Records of the Valiant
by Naryfiel Lilith
Summary: In the year 803, Grado destroyed Renais in a sneak attack. In the ashes, Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika vowed to end the war. During their battles, they discovered secrets kept quiet by pride and insecurity, and the past darkness that had become their present enemy. This is how they, and their comrades, rose to become the light that parted the darkness, once and for all. (FE8)
1. Prologue) The Fall

Prologue) The Fall

* * *

 _In an age long past, darkness flooded the land. Evil creatures, monsters with twisted forms, ran wild, pushing mankind to the brink of annihilation. In that despair, mankind appealed to the heavens and they answered with blinding light, and searing hope. They granted humans the Sacred Stones, gems of crystallized divine might, which held the power to dispel the evil and its ruler, the fierce Demon King. The Five Heroes, led by Grado, took this gems and the Sacred Twin Weapons, and sealed the Demon King away. With the darkness imprisoned, light shone upon the world once more and peace reigned. For over 800 years, that peace remained on the continent, named Magvel, an old word for 'restoration'._

 _The Sacred Stones were passed down from generation to generation, and nations were built around their legacy. In the center, the only landlocked country on the continent and known for its knights, was Renais, ruled by Fado, the peerless Warrior King. To the northwest, with its vast plains and pegasus knights, was Frelia, ruled by Hayden, the venerable Sage King. To the east, with vast deserts and an army of mercenaries, was Jehanna, ruled by Ismaire, the Queen of the White Dunes, regent in the absence of her son. To the northeast, known for its strong beliefs and stronger light magic, guardians of the Darkling Woods, was Rausten, ruled Mansel, the Divine Emperor. To the south, largest of the nations, known for its wyverns and dark magic users, was Grado, ruled by Vigarde, the stalwart Silent Emperor. These Sacred Stone nations are joined by Carcino, the smallest and youngest of the nations after the previous one was overthrown by civil war, which is ruled by a council of merchants, currently headed by Lord Klimt._

 _In times of peace, the epic conflict of the Five Heroes and the Demon King has passed into simple legend, a thing to celebrate and pay respect to, but nothing more. However, in the year 803 Magvel, everything changed._

 _In an unexpected act of atrocity, the Grado Empire invaded the Kingdom of Renais, without warning or mercy, under orders of Emperor Vigarde himself, long known for his peaceful ways. The attack shook the masses, and Grado's forces easily devour Renais, piece by piece, leaving behind blood and corpses in their wake, and Renais was unable to mount an offense that did more than stall Grado. Peerless warrior king he might be, but King Fado cannot counter a blow he never saw coming. It is well known how deeply Renais and Grado are tied; King Fado and Emperor Vigarde have long viewed each other as best friends, and the friendship between Princess Eirika, Prince Ephraim, and Imperial Prince Lyon is simple fact, just as the sky is blue and grass is green._

 _Compounding King Fado's worries is his feckless son and heir, Prince Ephraim, who disappeared shortly after the assault, likely to charge headfirst into the battles he loves far too much. As such, King Fado is stuck trying to rally the army alone, though General Seth and Princess Eirika do what they can to help. But Grado's momentum, unimpeded by anything, brings them right to the gates of Castle Renais itself. Renais will fall. It's inevitable._

 _At least most of my family and my friends are already gone. I only have one more person to lose._

* * *

The rain began when word came that Ivroria was surrounded, with the heavy knowledge that the capital of Renais, and Castle Renais itself, would fall before long. Grado had won its campaign long before it began. Now, we were just waiting for it all to end and we figure out what Grado planned for us.

"Emma!" Helena's voice broke me from my thoughts, and I looked up from the muddy ground to see her waving at me. "Goodness, child, what are you doing out?" she demanded, gesturing for me to come to her. She was wearing a nice dress, so I knew she didn't want to risk mud staining it. "It's pouring!"

"It's lighter than earlier," I replied with a shrug. I held up my basket of various foods, freshly bought from the traveling merchants. "I ran low."

"Dear, you could've just asked for something. You know I always make more than enough." She huffed, sulking at me. Looking at her, it was hard to believe she was old enough to be my mother. "And, well, I'd love to take care of you. We'll be evacuating soon."

"I heard you were in the next group." People had been trickling out ever since Serafew fell, and Grado came. Some went to Carcino, while others went to Frelia. We weren't far from either border here. "Stay safe."

"We'll try." She reached out and cupped my cheek, careful to not dislodge my hood. "You are more than welcome to come with Sam and me. Gods know that you've spent enough time in this house when Mary was alive."

"You're very kind." I tried not to flinch. Mary had been my best friend, and her eldest. But she'd died two years ago, after a particularly cold rain that fell while we were trying to bring in crops. I'd gotten a cold. She, and many others, got pneumonia, and it had been a particularly nasty type. The local church, healers that serviced at least ten other villages, had been overwhelmed, and so, a lot of people had died. "But I'll remain here."

"If you're sure…" Helena gave me a worried look. "If you change your mind…"

"I'll let you know." I smiled tiredly at her and walked away, back towards my house on the outskirts of the village. Dad had built it himself, since Mom had joked that she wanted to build her own home after retiring from being a mercenary. At one point, it had been a bright, cheerful place, but nowadays, it was just a brown house with stuff inside.

The lack of cheer had been a slow deterioration. Dad had been a knight for Renais, often away, and then one day, when I was about three, while defending King Fado from an assassin, he'd died and never came back. Mom had held onto her life and cheer, but when I was ten, we'd had a flood and Mom had drowned while getting some kids to higher ground. My sister, Monica, had raised me after that, and things held steady. They'd even grown a little brighter, with my friends and I growing up, Jacob and I shyly dating, her marrying her longtime boyfriend, Orson.

Then the pneumonia came and killed Mary, Jacob, and most of my friends. Monica and Orson had supported me all they could, but Monica had always been frail, and the stress of everything finally took its toll on her, and she'd died six months ago, in miserable pain, though she continued to smile.

I only had Orson left now, but he wasn't here. He was missing, alongside our idiotic, irresponsible crown prince. For all I knew, he was dead. He could even be dead by his own hand; I'd stopped him from committing suicide soon after Monica died, after all. I doubted Prince Ephraim, or his 'loyal knights', would get their heads out of their asses long enough to worry about him, much less stop a suicide attempt.

The thoughts made me tireder than usual, and by the time I reached my house, I was tempted to just skip food all together, and just go straight to bed. I paused, however, when I noticed something odd. My door was slightly ajar, but I knew I had firmly closed it when I left for the market. I had gone back to make sure of it, since I hadn't wanted the rain to seep in. So, carefully, I pushed the door open and walked inside, wondering what I'd do if there was an intruder. A year ago, the answer would've been obvious, but I was just so… tired.

It was still dark in my house, no thanks to the clouds blocking what little light there should've been. However, there was still enough light to see that there were two people in front of my fireplace, a girl with turquoise hair and a man with Jehannan-red hair. Both wore armor, and as the girl whirled to face me, I saw she wore a very short skirt, and that her armor was colored gold.

I knew her, or rather, I knew of her. More importantly, I had a good idea what her presence here meant, even if I wondered why Princess Eirika was _in my house_.

"I'm so sorry! Is this your home?" she babbled, voice breathy. She was drenched, likely caught in the earlier bad rain, but I could still see the streaks of mud and soot on her face and clothes. "I just… it didn't look occupied, and his injury and…" She gestured to the man, and I knew him as well. General Seth, half-Jehannan like me with the hair and eye color to prove it, struggled to get to his feet, but he looked pale, pained, and the armor on his side was cracked, hinting he'd taken a bad hit. "And I think he's got a fever, but he won't let me look, and… and...

I blinked at her, certain that if I blinked enough times, she'd disappear. However, she remained where she was. "Clothes," I whispered. She gave me a weird look, likely because I wasn't freaking out. But I couldn't find the energy to care. I just wanted to go to bed. But I was also scared of what the cold would do to her. Colds and pneumonia were common this time of year, and there would be even less healers now. "You need to change into dry clothes, the both of you." I set my basket down and hooked my cloak on a pin by the door before slipping off my muddy boots. "I'll get some for both of you."

"Thank you…" She smiled slightly, just… accepting that I was going to be weird. "Oh, I'm being rude. I'm-"

"I know who you are, Princess Eirika." Even if I didn't, her demeanor and clothing gave her away, easily. "Oh, let me get a fire going for you two first."

It took me a couple of tries, mostly because the wood was damp, but it wasn't long before I got a roaring fire going, and I gave them blankets to dry off with as I headed to the back to find them some clothes. As I walked through, I absently glanced around, not blaming Princess Eirika for thinking the place had been abandoned. When Monica died, Orson and I had packed up most of the personal belongings, with the plan of me moving to Ivroria with him. Most of my things were there, actually, in his little townhouse. All that was here were the barest of essentials, like some rugs and curtains, some cooking utensils, and some old clothes we'd planned on bringing in with the last bit. Of course, Grado's invasion happened prior to that, so I was stuck in a rather impersonal house.

I made it to the back room, once my parents' room and now just a storage space, and looked through the piles, hunting for clothes I thought might fit. General Seth and Orson were about the same size, so I grabbed some of his clothes, briefly wondering if Orson would mind. I figured quickly, though, that he wouldn't. Orson had always talked fondly of General Seth, and would likely have loved the chance to help him out.

After I picked out clothes for General Seth, I wondered what clothes to pick for Princess Eirika. I hesitated for a moment before picking out some of Monica's old dresses, thinking that they'd fit her better than my own clothes. Monica definitely wouldn't have minded; she probably would've already had them in my hands and ushered me out the door to them.

Clothes picked, I returned to the living room, passed them the dry clothes, and retrieved my basket to begin making dinner. I'd have to make a larger amount than expected, and it was so… strange to have bits of murmuring in the background as I cooked again.

If I closed my eyes, I could pretend they were Orson and Monica. But I kept my eyes open, because there was no use in pretending away reality.

* * *

About two days after Princess Eirika and General Seth took refuge in my house, we got word that Castle Renais had officially fallen. There was absolutely no word on King Fado, and even less on Prince Ephraim. I listened closely to what bits were there, after all. Princess Eirika would like to know.

"You've been buying a lot more these past few days," Victor noted cheerfully. He was Carcinoan, and like most, was a merchant. Specifically, he was part of a group of traveling merchants, and their group had been visiting the village for the past few years. "Not that I'm complaining, of course, but it's a noticeable difference. Has your appetite returned?"

"Even if it did, I doubt I could eat this much," I replied, laughing a little. The sound sounded hollow in my ears, and not simply because I was tired still. I was also worried, because he'd noticed. I bought for three people. "No, I am simply stocking up. With the war, I imagine prices will jump."

"Sadly, true." He sighed a bit, but I already knew he was rapidly thinking of how to make a profit without taking advantage of people. That's just how merchants were. "...You know…" He coughed awkwardly, and his face turned red. "The offer of you leaving with us is still open…"

"...You're very kind." I smiled at him, and pretended I didn't notice the blush. He had a crush on me, but I just… wasn't interested. "But I will remain here."

"Okay…" He sounded a bit disappointed, and I knew it wasn't just because of his crush. He was a genuinely kind person, and was worried. He had been when I first met him, three years ago, and that had never changed. "If you change your mind…"

"You'll be the first to know." I gave him a small smile and went on my way, carrying my basket of food back to my house. I passed Helena's house on the way, but this time, there was no little scolding for walking in the rain. Helena and little Sam had left yesterday, giving me hugs and whispering prayers that I would remain safe. I'd seen them off with a smile, but their departure made things all the clearer how few people were around. The only life in the village came from the merchants, and they would be gone before long.

I made it to my house in record time, and walked in, setting my basket down to hook my cloak on the knob and take off my boots. As I did, I noticed Princess Eirika was up and about and… attempting to sweep. But she held the broom oddly, and she looked so incredibly confused as she more pushed the dirt and ash this way and that, attempting to get it into a pile, but failing miserably. The sight was so ridiculous that a giggle bubbled out of my throat, and even as she squeaked and whirled, I realized that it was the first time I'd _giggled_ since Monica died.

"Welcome back!" Princess Eirika chirped, hiding the broom behind her. She glanced down at the floor and I found myself giggling, again, at how silly she was. "I… uh…"

"Attempted to sweep?" I supplied, feeling my face stretch with a smile. A wider smile. It felt stiff. "I can see that."

"Y-yes, well…" She coughed and reddened all the way to her ears. I'd noticed she didn't really blush 'prettily', like the princesses in the stories. Her blushes tended to be a dark red, mottling through her face until it reached her neck and ears. "I just… wanted to try and help a bit, but maybe I just made it worse."

"Weren't you taking care of General Seth?"

"He's asleep now, and his horse is nice and fed, hiding in your shed in the back!" Her smile widened. "I think his fever is coming down."

"That would be good." I found my smile widen further at that, even though it hurt my face to smile so freely now. "The infection wasn't too bad."

"The wound is, though…" Her smile faltered and fell, and she drooped a little. General Seth had, apparently, gotten the bad injury due to shielding her from a Grado General. "It's just…"

"Wounds heal, in time." I picked up my basket again and headed for the kitchen to begin making dinner. "Stew okay?"

"Oh, of course." Princess Eirika's smile returned, and she sat in front of the fire, right next to her awkward piles of dust. "I really can't thank you enough, Miss Emma."

"It's really nothing." There was something a bit… comforting… in having someone else to cook for again. "I'm just doing whatever."

"Not many people would take the sudden appearance of two random strangers so calmly." She sighed. "My poor people, though… everything is falling apart, and my father and brother are…"

"Honestly, Princess, so long as you stay alive, the people will hold onto hope." I set out the vegetables I'd bought on the counter, and took my knife to start cutting the potatoes into smaller chunks for the stew. "They've been hoping for a while that you'd take over anyway."

"What?" Her voice sounded strangled. "B-but Ephraim is the heir!"

"And he dodges responsibility, always has, and left us to be slaughtered while he chased after glory. Or he intends to skate by with his talent, as he always had, for some 'good fights', since only an idiot would assume they alone can turn the tide against an army." I put a little more force into cutting than necessary. "But you are kind and responsible. Naive, and maybe a little foolish, but that's what advisors are for. You do your duty, and so, the people hope that you'd become queen, and your brother would go die as a mercenary or whatever glorified nonsense he wanted to do." I paused, and then turned to face her pale, wide-eyed face with a wry smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't mention him being 'dead' or anything while he's missing."

"No, no, I'm sure he's fine." She sounded distinctly squeaky, though. "I just… never realized Ephraim was hated."

"Hate is perhaps too strong a word, though there might be many who hate him now for abandoning us." My smile turned more bitter. "It's hard to hate someone who cares nothing for you."

"B-but Ephraim does care!"

"Then he is too lazy to show it." I turned back to the vegetables and resumed my cutting. "What's your favorite vegetable?"

"I… carrots?" Her voice was squeaky again, likely from the abrupt subject change. "Um…"

"I'll put some extra in for you." I moved the chopped potatoes to the side, and went to chop up the carrots. "It's important to eat, especially when things are crazy." That was what Monica always said. I missed her.

"...Right. I cannot despair until I've reunited with my family." There was some rustling and, suddenly, Princess Eirika was next to me. "Is there not anything I can do to assist?"

I gave her a long, studying look, and sighed. "For now, separate the chopped things into dishes. They cook at different rates, so they'll go into the stew at different times."

"Okay."

* * *

Two days after we heard of Castle Renais fall, General Seth recovered enough to move. His fever had gone down, and his wound had closed with no signs of infection. I headed into the market to buy him some more bandages, and to get them both some apples for their trip. Apples were cheap right now, so I could get them a bit. No one questioned the odd bulk purchase; Victor and his group left that morning, before I'd bought anything.

A strange bit of rumbling, however, caught my ears as I headed back for my house, and I turned to see some mud on the horizon, and some black dots under the storm clouds, flying easily through the rain that still fell. I wondered what it could be for a brief moment, but then I caught the flags whipping in the wind and recognized the black Wyvern Rampant of Grado on the flags. Grado was here, and I had little doubts why.

From somewhere, I found the energy to run, mud splashing up my legs and onto my skirts as I dodged puddles and ran straight through the door, not even bothering to take off my boots. Both Princess Eirika and General Seth looked at me, startled, from their place in front of the fire.

"Grado is here," I informed them, my voice shaky from the run. General Seth closed his eyes while Princess Eirika gasped. "You need to leave." I shoved my basket into Princess Eirika's arms, and pushed her towards the back door. "Quickly. Is your horse saddled?"

"Yes, we're ready to leave," General Seth replied. He winced subtly as he moved, still in pain, but he could endure. "We were waiting for you to get back from the market."

"Well, I'm back, and now you need to go." I got Princess Eirika out the door, and undid my cloak to put it on her. "Now."

"Thank you, truly." General Seth continued pushing Princess Eirika out the door, and I could see his horse really was all ready to go. I could also hear screams on the wind, hinting that the Grado forces were already here. "I'm sorry."

"Just go!" I shoved them _both_ , as hard as I could, and closed the door behind them. Outside, thunder boomed, actually rattling the house. It was soon echoed by the thunder of hooves on the ground.

I took a deep breath and moved from the door, heading to my room and tugging a small pack from under my bed. I threw some random clothes and bits of fruit inside, not really paying attention, and slung it over my shoulder. The movements were completely automatic, and a sick feeling pooled in my stomach. I chose to not thinking about it, since I didn't know when my energy reserves would flag again, and I moved to the back door. I paused, however, and turned back, realizing the fire was still going. I hesitated a bit before going to it and banking it. It was a stupid move, and I acknowledged that even as I did, but even though this house was dreary and dark, it had still been 'home'.

But I shouldn't have done that. Someone actually kicked down the door and the lightning flashed behind them, casting them in an eerie shadow for a split second before they stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was the diluted blood streaming down their armor. The second thing I noticed was the blood matted in their stringy teal hair. The third thing I noticed was the madness in their dark eyes, and the sickening smirk on their face.

"Well, well, I didn't expect to see such a pretty thing here," they noted lightly. Their smirk widened. "I thought you might've run with them. Did they leave you behind, pretty one?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied automatically, finding the energy from somewhere inside. It took a moment, but my mind supplied me with a name, based off of Orson's stories. Valter, once one of the Imperial Three, had been a mad general who had been dishonorably discharged from the army for slaughtering civilians. Orson had told me he disagreed with their decision to simply imprison him, and it made me wonder now if Emperor Vigarde had simply planned on releasing the mad dog for the coming war. "Who are you? Why do you come so rudely into my home?"

"Well, pretty and defiant…" Valter chuckled lowly, and my skin crawled. "You are interesting. Hair of blood, eyes to match, and such wonder…" He stepped closer, and I wanted to step back. But fear and shock had rooted my feet, and so I accidentally held my ground as he stopped in front of me, and met his face impassively because while I had enough energy to talk, I was too tired to show any of the fear I felt. "We got word that General Seth and Princess Eirika escaped here, dear one." He reached out and ran a hand through my hair, twisting the locks around his fingers and tugging slightly. I gave no reaction and his smirk only grew. "Clever corpse, that man is. It's off the path, and the recent rains had covered their tracks so very well."

"Is that so?" I remained still as he leaned in a little closer and pulled my hair a little harder. I regretted letting it grow out after Monica had died. I'd simply been too tired to even cut it, so it fell to my waist now. "That's an interesting story."

"And we heard another interesting story as well. Something about a lone girl, living all alone, buying a lot of food. Perhaps, in fact, enough to feed three people."

"Buying in bulk is cheaper, especially right now."

"And where _is_ that bulk?" He leaned in even closer, and I felt his too hot breath on my face. He was really far too close, leaning over me. "Might you show me?"

"I fail to see why I should show anything to someone who so rudely entered my home." I also failed to see why I couldn't just shut up. Monica had always warned me about my habit to talk first, think second, especially since I had a bad habit of being too _honest_ as well. "Perhaps if you had entered my house like a proper person instead of a mad beast, I might've have."

He stared at me for a long moment before he started chuckling again. This time, it sounded so deranged. "I'd planned on savoring the hunt for Princess Eirika and that lovely defiant corpse, but you… you have whet my appetite too much!" He harshly pulled on my head, jerking it back, and then knocked my feet out from under me, sending me to the ground. He then quickly pinned me, using his greater weight to keep me from moving as he continued to laugh. "Ah, too tempting, far too tempting… I'm so _bored_ …!"

My mind stopped, realizing what he meant, but my body reacted. My heart was too tired to care, and my mind was too frozen, but my body knew damn well what it wanted: to keep on living and to get _away_ from him. He'd made the mistake of not restraining my hands, so I reached out and snagged a log from the fire. It burned and crumbled under my fingers, but I got enough of a grip to snag it and swing, hitting him right in the face. He screamed, and jerked back, and I scrambled out from under him, thinking distantly that he really was a beast. Threatening, but hated being hurt.

I left my pack behind as I stumbled out the door and into the mud and rain. But my treacherously long hair proved to be a detriment as Valter quickly caught up and seized it, using it to pull me back, and laughing all the while.

"Oh, you're so, so beautiful," he hissed in my ear. "Oh, how I want to break you, master you, make you _scream…_ "

"I'm not much of a screamer, sorry," I retorted, trying to think of what Mom had taught me for self-defense. But my mind was frozen from fear, unable to find the energy to do much of anything except responses that likely made everything worse.

"I'm sure I can turn you into one…" He turned my face towards his, and his eyes were even madder than before, and not because of the blistering red marks on his face. Or maybe they were, but in a different way than most people. This man was absolutely insane. Why had he not been simply killed, back when he was convicted? "It will be so much fun to-!"

A rock, of all things, hit Valter square in the face, followed by a lance to the shoulder. Valter's grip on me loosened, and someone else snagged me. I nearly jerked out, but I recognized who it was as soon as I faced them. General Seth.

He dragged me after him, ducking into the nearby trees quickly and actually marking random trees. I wondered why before I realized that he didn't mark the trees that actually showed our path. He was laying a fake trail to confuse them, and buy us extra time to escape.

After while, we stopped to catch our breath under a particularly large tree, one I recognized easily. Monica, Orson, and I had often had picnics under it, since it wasn't far from the village's stables. I leaned against the bark and gasped greedily at air as my lungs protested the recent fear and exertions.

A gentle hand fell on my back, but I flinched away automatically. When I glanced up at General Seth, I saw guilt in his eyes. "I apologize for grabbing you so brusquely," he murmured. He deliberately brought his hand down to his side, and didn't try to touch me again. I was grateful for that. "I feared he might recover quickly."

"He did when I hit him in the face with a burning log." I straightened slowly, wincing as my legs screamed. They hadn't enjoyed the recent exercise either. I used to run around like a child all the time, but I'd been too tired. My legs showed that. "Why are you back?"

"Princess Eirika didn't want to leave you in danger."

"And you listened?" I gave him my most incredulous look. "Isn't _her_ safety priority for you?"

"She's the stubborn twin, sadly." He smiled wryly. "Though, I had to admit, I did not much like leaving you in danger myself."

"That's… noble."

"I think it more selfishness. I am a knight and my duty is to protect, and yet, I can barely protect two people." He sighed, glaring up at the sky. The rain continued pouring down. "We'll rendezvous with Princess Eirika and figure out to do from there. Both of you can ride my horse."

"What, and you'll remain behind?" I groaned. I also decided that maybe Princess Eirika _wasn't_ as good of a ruler as I thought she might be, if she focused so much on the smaller picture. "Knights! Always too damned noble minded!" That was why Orson was with Ephraim even now, damn it. "Head left."

"Pardon?"

"Head. Left." I kept my voice firm. It took all the energy I had left. "There's a group stable for the village not far from here if we head towards the left. It's set up there because there's fields that they can run in and everything. My brother-in-law's spare horse should be there. I doubt they passed it yet. I know how to ride." I hadn't done it since Monica died, but I could hopefully remember enough.

"Well, that makes things easier." He started heading that way instantly, and I tried not to slip in the mud. "Let's hope we can reach it easily."

"I think they're a little busy killing the villagers." I winced as I heard screams rip through the thunder. "He's not even pretending to look, is he?"

"...No, he's not. He didn't from the beginning. We were just an excuse." His eyes were dark as he looked back at me. "I'm sorry. This village is off the path. I'd hoped they wouldn't be able to track us until…"

"It's done. You can't bring back the dead." I shook my head. I was too tired to be angry at him. I felt too tired to do much of anything, now. "Let's get the horse."

"Yes."

* * *

We'd gotten lucky. The stables were still untouched when we arrived, and the tack was all where it should've been. Some horses were missing, evacuated with the others, but Orson's spare horse, lovingly named Peachblossom by my sister for some inane reason, was still here, whickering when she saw me. General Seth opened the doors to all the stalls as I saddled Peachblossom up, so that the horses could escape the coming chaos, and he gathered what extra supplies were left here, likely because he barely had enough to care for _his_ horse, much less two.

After that, we met with a relieved Princess Eirika and rode for the Frelian border, stopping just short to make camp in a cave. The rain, surprisingly enough, had finally stopped after over a week when we did.

"We're almost there," General Seth whispered. I thought it was more just to remind him that this trial was almost over than to actually inform us. "Just a little longer." He turned to where Princess Eirika and I were curled up under a blanket as resting against the wall. Since I'd left without my pack, there was really only enough for two, but Princess Eirika shared easily and without question. "Once we cross the bridge, we'll be in Frelia, near Border Mulan." He managed a small smile, but it faded quickly. "It won't be an easy ride. But I think we can make it."

"I'm glad to hear that," Princess Eirika murmured. She slowly reached up to touch my shoulder. Fast movements made me twitchy, but she adapted with ease. "How are you doing?"

"I think I'll recover," I replied, unable to think of anything else to say. I wasn't fine, I hadn't been for a while, and it seemed stupid to lie so obviously. "You need not worry."

"How can I not, considering…?" Her voice caught and she coughed. I instantly felt panic worm through my heart, remembering the pneumonia. But, it quickly became apparent that she was simply coughing back tears. "Oh, gods…"

"Are you well?" General Seth asked, sounding a little panicked. He couldn't see her quite well from this angle. "You're pale, your highness. Are you ill?"

"No, it just… hit me, that's all," she mumbled, shivering. "This is war, isn't it? It's not like the silly games Ephraim and I would play with Lyon. I never thought…" She shook her head. "You read about it in the books, but it's so dry compared to everything. War is so… savage. Are words useless? Is it all about strength?" She laughed bitterly. "I learned some swordplay, but I've never been strong. I always focused on diplomacy. I'm useless, except as a beacon of hope."

"Princess…" General Seth seemed hesitant, and sad. "You…"

"No, don't give me that look, Seth." She looked at him, and smiled slightly. "I always relied on Ephraim to be the strong one. But that's just selfish, isn't it? To let him be the strong one, while I was the 'responsible one'? Well, my responsibility tells me to see this through. I am not broken, Seth, and I will not be. I will simply find my own strength, as Ephraim has." She became hesitant suddenly. "At least… I hope I can…"

"...I'm sure you can." General Seth smiled. "For now, though, you and Miss Emma need to rest."

"True." Princess Eirika smiled back and, cautiously, leaned her head on my shoulder. When i didn't protest, she smiled. "We'll get you to safety, Emma. I promise."

"I'm touched, your highness," I replied softly. Mostly, I was startled. I'd expected her to burst into tears or something. But no, she simply kept her head high, and her resolve firm. "You don't need to go through the trouble."

"It would barely be more trouble than you sheltering us," General Seth pointed out. His expression faded for stoicism again. "Still, the road is likely to be dangerous. Do you have any sort of combat training? You clearly know how to ride, but…"

"...I know a bit of lance work, I guess." I almost shrugged, but Princess Eirika was already dozing. I didn't want to wake her up. "Some bits from my parents, some bits from my brother-in-law. It was never something I did recreationally, but I know some basics."

"My silver lance is likely too heavy for you to take, but I think I can snag you an iron one from one of the nearby villages." General Seth gave me a bitter smile. "I fear that you might need to defend yourself again. I'd rather you have a proper weapon for that. I'll give you some pointers when we next stop, and ways to not freeze up."

"My problem was that I couldn't resist being a smartass while afraid, but not freezing will probably be good." I yawned, though, and blinked slowly. I hadn't had a bantering conversation with anyone for a while, and it felt strange. "Well, for now, I'm going to pass out."

"Go ahead." He actually laughed a bit. "It's been a long few days."

"Yeah…" I was already drifting off. "War sucks."

If he said anything in response, I didn't hear it. Sleep closed my ears very quickly, that night.

* * *

 _Notes on Emma:_

 _A 17 year old villager. Half Jehannan, and inherited the trademark red hair and eyes. Knows some lancework._

 _Suffers from depression due to the recent loss of her sister, Monica, and the disappearance of her brother-in-law, Orson, alongside Prince Ephraim. That Monica was her only family since her parents died when she was young, and that she was already trying to recover from the deaths of many friends, and her boyfriend, two years ago did not help matters._

 _Very honest, sometimes bluntly and brutally so, but finds it hard to simply send a person on their way without help. Despite her melancholy, she holds a strong inner fire, which catches people's eyes, for good or for ill._

 _Notes on Eirika:_

 _The 17 year old Princess of Renais. Recently learned some swordwork._

 _Detests violence and is incredibly gentle, which is both her greatest strength and weakness. Due to a sheltered upbringing, she is incredibly naive and, worse, stubborn. Still, her attention to duty make the people prefer her over her older twin for the title of 'heir'._

 _Incredibly brave in the face of adversity, and determined to see her kingdom restored and to get to the root of the problem. Worries desperately, however, for her father, brother, and her dear friend, Lyon._

 _Notes on Seth:_

 _The 27 year old Silver Knight, most famed General of Renais. Specializes in lances, but skilled in swords as well._

 _Known for being the youngest to hold the title of General, and for being the finest knight in the lands. He is also known for his devotion and loyalty to his country, and the royal family in particular._

 _Took a bad injury from fighting General Valter, mostly because he had to protect Princess Eirika from the blow. The injury became infected, leading to a fever and why he and Princess Eirika stopped in the village. Though closed, it does not seem as if the injury has healed yet._

* * *

Author's note: Welcome to Records of the Valiant, an FE8 novelization. The title comes from the name of the opening movie's music (The Valiant). Emma is an OC, the sister of Monica, and thus the sister-in-law to Orson, a canon knight of Renais. She starts as a 'villager', and is basically a 'trainee' class like Amelia, Ross, and Ewan. As for the criticism for Ephraim… I adore him, but the game doesn't quite dive a lot into his flaws at the beginning of the game, though he serves as a lovely deconstruction of 'the Ace' towards the end of it. I will note, though, that Emma in particular doesn't like him because he disappeared with the only family she has left, Orson.

This chapter is based off the prologue in game, but tweaked to allow for Emma's recruitment. There is no name for the capital city of Renais, so I substituted one in (thank you, fantasygenerators) for convenience.

Next Chapter - Escape!


	2. Chapter 1) Escape!

Chapter 1) Escape!

* * *

 _Renais has fallen, and my village, those few that hadn't evacuated yet, has been slaughtered. The very idea is hard to wrap my head around, but I suppose that's just how war is. What's weirder, though, is that I'm traveling with Princess Eirika and General Seth. I had only ever seen them from a distance before, and it's strange that I'd be anywhere near them._

 _Everything is strange. I can barely keep up._

* * *

"Shift your feet more, and bend your knees for balance." General Seth gave the instructions literally half a second before he struck, catching the side of my lance with his sheathed sword. The impact made my hands sting and actually knocked me off my feet. I barely had a chance to catch myself before he attacked again. "Once more."

"Give me a break!" I struggled to get my footing, and felt tangled up. "I'm-"

"Tired, yes, you like the word." He struck again when I glowered and I nearly fell, just barely catching myself on one leg. "You should come up with another."

"Why the hell should I come up with a new one, and where the hell do you think I'm going to find the energy to _think_ of a different one!" Angry, I just swung wildly and, awkwardly, I actually… caught him in the face. "A-ah…"

"And that is why untrained is more dangerous than half-trained." He stepped back and absently rubbed at the red mark on his face. He gave me a look when I suddenly started giggling. "Is hitting me in the face amusing?"

"Oh, no, not exactly." My legs were shaky. They, and my arms, didn't appreciate all the practicing. "I'm just thinking I'm two for two for meeting generals and hitting them in the face. How did I manage that?"

"I hadn't expected you to swing, much less for my face." He smiled slightly. "I expected you to just shout and glare, or do something other than attack while on one foot."

"I think it's also a sign, Seth, that you are tired," Princess Eirika chided as she walked up, hair still dripping from where she'd taken a quick bath in the river nearby. General Seth looked up at the sky, likely because Princess Eirika's dress, already short, was clinging. "Hmm? What is it?"

"You didn't dry off properly," I explained, laughing a bit. She paused and glanced down, blushing badly. "You didn't notice?"

"I suppose I got distracted by the fact that there were no buttons on the back." She stepped behind me, and I noticed she hadn't put her boots back on yet. While she'd borrowed some of Monica's clothes for journey, she'd kept her shoes. "Seth, why don't you go ahead and wash up?"

"Meanwhile, I'll tease Princess Eirika for expecting fancy things from a villager." I snickered as she squeaked, and General Seth smiled slightly as he headed down for the river. When he was out of sight, I glanced back at her. "Buttons? These are the same clothes you were wearing before."

"Yes, but I was exhausted by everything that I didn't notice." She sulked a bit, and I shook my head, amused. "So, I noticed here, and so…"

"Well, the sun is shining. You'll dry out by the time he's done." I sat down on the grass and stretched, looking to the clear blue sky. It was surprising how bright it was, considering how much rain there had been recently. "He didn't sleep last night, did he?"

"No, he didn't." She sat down next to me, smoothing out her skirts to be all proper. "He didn't sleep the whole time he rode for… rode away from…" She sighed. "It's been a long few days."

"Yes, it has." I looked at her and realized something. "...I never apologized, did I?"

"Hmm?" She gave me a curious look. "For what?"

"For saying all those things about your brother, to your face, when you were hurting." I grimaced when she winced. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Well…" She paused, clearly thinking of the words. "I can't say you were wrong. There are some things that I've scolded Ephraim about myself."

"But I could've at least picked a better time to be brutally honest." I would maintain that the words were true, but I didn't need to hurt her in the process, especially since she was so kind. "Next time, yell at me."

"Oh, but you were taking care of us."

" _Seriously_ , just snap back, even if you think I'm right." I sighed. "Monica always did, and that's why I'm not even worse. When I was little, it was _bad_."

"Monica?" Her eyes lit up with curiosity, and I got a feeling she was using the subject change to avoid agreeing. "Who's that?"

"...My sister. She died, painfully, six months ago." I paused and then groaned. "Damn it. A simple 'she died' would've sufficed. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. My next question was going to be where was she." She laughed a bit, and I decided that maybe Princess Eirika was too _kind_ to really be a good leader. But she tried, at least. "Now, about your earlier thing. Might we have a compromise?"

"Ah, the diplomacy you're famous for."

"I might as well use it for something!" She laughed again, and I found myself smiling. It was hard not to, around her. "I'm not sure I'll be able to yell. For one thing, my reaction was simple shock, and then trying to just avoid the topic. I'm not good with confrontations or arguing. Ephraim is too, actually." She paused and smiled slightly. "Well, with arguing. He tends to just… do his own thing, as you said, and everyone else can follow or get out of the way. I imagine that if you yelled at him like that, he'd just stare because he doesn't know what to do when people, you know, yell at him."

"I take it that it didn't happen often." I made my voice dry, and she giggled. "Well, when you reunite, find me, and I'll give him a verbal flaying."

"Ah! But…" She paused once again, and then gave me a curious look. "How about two compromises?"

"Let me hear them."

"The first is simply that each time you're brutally honest, I get to ask a question that you answer to the fullest extent that you can." She waited to see my reaction and, after a moment, I nodded. I understood what was meant by it. The question was likely to be something horribly awkward or uncomfortable, and would inflict the same discomfort on me that I inflicted on whoever I was brutally honest too. "The second is that you let me vent at you."

"I can agree to that, but note that I might need to wait on answering the question, depending on what it is." I smiled when she did. "Now, you mentioned venting?"

"Yes." She pouted. "I must admit to being very tempted, if only so that he can get _some_ sort of lecture for just disappearing on us! I fear I'll be too relieved to see him."

"Oh, if you want him to get a lecture, I am _definitely_ your girl." My smile widened as she laughed again. "Now, I made you uncomfortable before. You get… let's go with two questions."

"Two? I'll take it!" Her smile faded, though she kept her cheer. "Then the first is simple. _Why_ are you so honest?"

"Well, part of it is because, as my sister loved scolding me for, I talk first, and think second. Part of it is my mother's fault. No one trusts a lying mercenary, and so, she was a stickler about lying. I'm not as much, but I definitely took after her on that." I paused, feeling uncomfortable, but pushed through. This was _why_ this was her suggested compromise, after all. "The third part is because I'm very used to people dying on me by now. I don't want to waste my time lying, unless I'm having to protect someone."

"Used to people dying?" Eirika looked confused. "We can use that as the second question."

"Of course." I sighed, and flopped onto my back to look at the sky. "Well, it's basically what I said. I'm used to people dying, or just disappearing. My parents died when I was young. I lost most of my friends, including my best friend and my boyfriend, two years ago. My sister died six months ago. And her husband…" I trailed off, wondering if this would become too 'blunt', but decided to go for it. "He's one of the knights Prince Ephraim took with him."

"...No wonder you're very uncharitable with him." Princess Eirika leaned back too. "Must be Orson. Kyle and Forde don't have wives, and Ephraim told me that Orson's wife had died recently and wasn't feeling well."

"He noticed?" That honestly surprised me.

"Ephraim is very observant!" She grinned. "He's just… shy when it comes to showing affection. Not lazy. Well, mostly not lazy."

"Huh." I thought about trying to retort, but decided not to. After all, while I might have a better idea about 'Prince' Ephraim, as he was viewed by his people, she was the authority when it actually came to his personality. "I'm still going to verbally flay him, if only because he abandoned us, and left you alone to deal with all of this."

"To what degree?"

"It depends on when we meet him, I suppose." It felt odd, talking about this, but in a strange way, I thought it helped her. We talked as if Prince Ephraim was still alive, after all, as if there was no question to it. I knew how important that was, to some people. It was scary, and I couldn't find that courage. But she could, and that was really, _really_ cool, if worrisome. "I will try to make it proportional to the worry you experience, though, and not exceed. If I do, you get three questions instead of the one you'll get normally."

"I think that'll work out just fine." She laughed again, and then pointed up to a cloud. "That one looks like a bunny, doesn't it?"

"The one next to it is definitely a kitty." And so we slowly turned out conversation to simply finding shapes in the clouds, and playfully arguing about which ones were which.

It felt… strange, because I hadn't done something like this in a while. I always intended to, to keep the memories of my friends alive, but I'd always put it off for… nothing. But, it was fun. I hadn't thought I _could_ have fun again.

* * *

When General Seth returned, Princess Eirika was dried, but funnily enough, her hair frizzed out _badly_ , so I was working on trying to tame it while laughing. General Seth genuinely thought we'd hit our heads, and we threatened to brush down his hair in retaliation. It was a strangely playful morning, considering everything, but I thought that might be _why_. When Mary, Jacob, and… _everyone_ had died, Monica had done her best to be playful and chipper to help brighten up my day. Same with Orson. It was just… something to try and keep from falling apart when everything else was.

Alone, I never had the energy to do that. It never seemed important, or I'd just… put everything off for 'later'. But Princess Eirika was _determined_ to keep strong, and it was hard to not try and keep up with her. That said, all measures of cheer and playfulness died when we reached Mulan, rather like all the civilians strewn about the place.

"Well, it looks a _little_ better than what was going on back home. Maybe," I murmured, dismounting. I crouched down to pick up a little doll, just out of reach of a dead little girl with bright blue ribbons tying back her hair. "I hadn't actually seen much of what was going on there." I tucked the doll underneath her, and tried to wrap her arm around it. But she was stiff, and her arm wouldn't move at all. "The smell is worse, though." It might've made my stomach roll, but I was in too much shock to really process that. "Smells like an animal carcass in the woods."

"It seems Grado forces have pushed farther ahead than I'd thought," General Seth murmured. He kept a tight grip on both of the horses, since they were skittish. The smell of smoke from the nearby buildings made them nervy. "We should bypass Mulan and-"

"But, Seth, we're here," Princess Eirika whispered, dismounting at last. She gestured to the burning buildings nearby. "How can we simply stand aside? How can I say I will restore Renais if I let Grado get away with these atrocities?" She turned to me, eyes pleading. "What do you think?"

"I think you and Prince Ephraim should've both left the recklessness back in the womb," I deadpanned. I sighed, though, and gave her a wry smile. "Well, I'm here. I can't just stand aside and not help someone when I'm literally right here."

"Precisely!" She turned back to General Seth, who looked tempted to just clock us both over the head and carry us past. "Please?"

"There are three of us," General Seth pointed out. He paused, though, and glanced towards the battlefield. "However, this seems to be just a small group, and there's little doubt that Frelia will have more reinforcements here before long." He sighed heavily. "Oh, very well, we may try. However, you must be cautious, and listen to me if I say we must retreat."

"That didn't take much," I noted dryly. I took my lance, a slim one that General Seth had 'acquired' from an abandoned village on the way, from Peachblossom's saddle, and she reached around to nuzzle my face. "What will we do with her? I can barely fight on my own two feet, much less on a horse."

"We'll have to trust her to take care of herself, I'm afraid." General Seth unhooked his own lance. "Princess Eirika…"

"I have my rapier," Princess Eirika replied. She held it up as proof, and I noticed her hand shaking slightly. "I fear we'll be relying on you, though, Seth."

"It is my duty, and pleasure, your highness," General Seth reassured. He still looked hesitant, though. "Stay close together. You're both new to battle, and these louts will likely show little mercy."

"We will. We'll focus more on the villages, away from the fortress where they seem to be clustered."

"Very good." General Seth nodded. "Stay safe."

He rode ahead, falling on the Grado forces like a damn tornado, but with a lot more blood. Princess Eirika and I exchanged looks of 'well, he lives up to the reputation' and ran into the nearby village. I glanced back, worried about Peachblossom, but she was already skirting the edges of where the battle seemed to be. I worried she might not come back, but then again, if everyone else had left me, why wouldn't a horse? At least she'd be safe.

The village, really more of a cluster of houses at this point, had few people still within, mostly because they'd been pinned by the fallen rubble of their houses. A few died as we tried to pull them out, but a few stayed alive. They were strangely helpful with advice, but more importantly, told us that 'Princess Tana' had arrived here not long before Grado did, assisting with evacuations into the fortress. Meaning she was within there with a bunch of other civilians.

Princess Eirika, of course, panicked, and wanted to push forward. I'd pointed out that we had civilians, and she had calmed and agreed that we needed to see them safely away first. While trying to do that, though, we had Grado soldiers upon us. I noticed she had difficulties fighting the lance users and I had problems with the axes, so she and I fought back to back, and I handled the lancers while she fought the axe users. As we fought, I noticed how much easier it was to fight, guarding her. When alone, I… I didn't want them to kill me, necessarily, but I didn't really feel like fighting back either. But when I was protecting someone, I did. I refused… to just stand aside, when I was right here, able to do _something_.

At same point, I heard some sort of odd clamoring to the north, and I looked up, worried that I'd see more Grado forces. But, instead, I saw a flag of greens and golds, with a brilliant bird in flight stitched on it. I knew it from Orson's stories: that was the crest of Frelia.

"Hey…" I began. My voice rasped, and I was aware of how utterly exhausted I was, and how dry my throat was. "Princess-"

"You know; we're fighting back to back," she immediately retorted. Her voice sounded even worse than mine. "Just call me Eirika."

"Well, I guess the title is stupid right now anyway." I _almost_ said 'since Renais had fallen', but I managed to bite my tongue in time and come up with a different reason. "You look the part of a princess, but there's no reason to announce it."

"Precisely." She leaned back against me briefly, and I heard her sigh. "So, what is it?"

"Oh, yeah, there's people to the north there, and I think that's Frelia's flag."

"Really?" She made a little squeak, and then actually cheered. "Reinforcements! That is precisely what we needed!" She managed a laugh. "Oh, I see Franz! He made it!"

"Franz?"

"The only other knight who managed to escape with Seth and me. Seth sent him ahead to let Frelia know what was going on." Princess Eirika laughed again. "Looks like Seth has gone to meet them." She nudged me. "Let's just… hold out a bit more for the villagers."

"That sounds good to me." I grimaced as I noticed some soldiers coming up from the rear, aka the way _we_ had come from. "Behind."

"Right!" Princess Eirika and I twisted to face our new enemies, doing our best to work together. The fight, though, was easier than I would've expected. I knocked one's helmet off, and thought the soldier might've been even younger than me. I wondered if we were actually fighting new recruits for Grado's army, those with as much experience, or even less, as Eirika and myself.

But then the thought passed, because there was no time to think. You couldn't think during a battle, really. Everything was focused on trying to not die, to stay alive. It was much harder than it sounded. It was a _relief_ when the last one fell and Eirika and I met General Seth, this Sir Franz, and the captain of the forces who helped us, Sir Gilliam.

I left them to talk and wandered towards the nearby lake, mostly because I could see Peachblossom there, drinking from it. I stumbled, though, under the soft sand, and stepped into the water with a splash. I didn't think much of it, until I noticed the strange bits of crimson and pink that rippled out from where I'd stepped. I glanced down and froze at my reflection. I was covered in blood and gore. Which made sense. I'd killed people. Not a lot. Maybe ten. But I'd killed people today, so it made sense I was messy.

...I'd killed people…

That realization hit me like a rock to the head. I covered my mouth as my stomach rolled, and I clutched the lance when I finally noticed how badly I was shaking. I didn't want to _lose_ it. I didn't want to lose anything at the moment. Not even my lunch or breakfast, or whatever the last meal I had was called. I wanted my parents. I wanted my friends. I wanted my sister. I wanted Orson.

A sound made me jerk up, and I saw General Seth standing near, holding up a towel. I hesitantly nodded and he came over to wipe the blood off of, at least, my hair and face. When I started crying, he said nothing. He simply gave me a bit of spiced candy that helped settle my stomach, and let me cry as the shock rippled through me.

Orson was right. General Seth was a really nice person.

* * *

After getting toweled off, I was escorted within the fortress and more or less thrown into a bath. Some village women actually attempted to help me bath, but that was about the time I yelped, and batted them away, mortified that they thought I could clean myself. Of course, I realized soon after it was because they'd been worried about me scrubbing my skin raw, but I'd caught myself before I did that. I made sure to apologize to the woman who helped me dry off and change into some clothes, simple but soft, far finer than what I'd worn before. She'd simply smiled and patted my cheek, reassuring me quietly that it was fine, before switching to bandaging the little scrapes and bruises that I'd gotten, but hadn't noticed because of my shock. I was still mortified by all of it.

After getting dried off, I was nudged towards a study of some sort, where a girl in a fine dress talked with Sir Gilliam, looking contrite. Princess Eirika wasn't far behind me, looking as drained as I felt. However, her face lit up instantly as she suddenly squealed in pure shock and utter delight and bolted for the girl, tackling her with a hug. However, the girl instantly returned the hug, and laughed. I wondered if this girl was Princess Tana. It was well known that she and Eirika were good friends.

I hung back as the two of them chatted, gaining something about Prince Ephraim and how General Seth and Sir Franz were on patrol, but not really paying attention. I really just wanted to pass out, exhausted in a completely different way than usual. So, it was a total _shock_ when Princess Tana broke off from her talk with Eirika and tackled _me_ with a hug. I froze up, startled, and unbidden, I thought of the last time I'd been pinned, of how Valter had snatched me, and…

"Oh, sorry!" Princess Tana instantly jumped back, and looked genuinely apologetic. "I should've asked first," she sad, drooping a little. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," I mumbled, feeling unsettled of how quickly I'd remembered that. I also felt really confused by a _princess_ suddenly hugging anyway, much less a stranger. "...If you give me warning, I can take a hug."

"Then, may I hug you again?"

"You may." I still tensed a bit when she did hug me, but it was a much calmer hug the second time round, and I relaxed pretty quickly. She reminded me of Eirika, actually. It was easy to see why they were good friends. "But, ah… who are you?" I had a guess, of course, but I'd better be polite and not assume.

"Oh, right." She pulled away and curtseyed. "I'm Princess Tana of Frelia. Eirika was just telling me how you took care of her and Seth, and I just _had_ to hug you for it. They're so dear and I've been so worried!"

"It's… nothing. I just had to help. They were soaked, and pneumonia is… bad."

"It is! I had it once. It sucked, and I was lucky enough to have healers." She smiled sweetly. "But enough of that! Here, let me show you and Eirika to your rooms. You must be exhausted!"

There was a bit more talking, and then a whirl of movement, and suddenly, I was in a simple room, all on my own. I'd sprawled out on the bed instantly, intending to just pass out. But when my head hit the pillow, I paused, realizing the smell was different. In Renais, pillows and blankets were often scented with lavender, since it was abundant in Renais. But this pillow smelled of… sandalwood. I only knew it because Orson had once brought some home after a mission to Frelia. Frelians often used it as a calming scent.

That, more than _anything_ , told me that I wasn't home. But from there, I focused on how the sheets were a simple off-white thing, with plain brown blankets, instead of the blotchy sheets back home, badly cleaned from numerous stains over years, with the embroidered quilt that Monica had made, that I'd hung onto instead of moving to Orson's townhouse in Ivroria. The walls of the room were solid stones of perfect bricks, instead of the wood of my house, absently patched here and there over the years. The candles on the nightstand were a plain white, instead of the various pinks Monica insisted on, because she'd loved the color pink, and Orson and I couldn't help but indulge her.

I wasn't home. Likely, my home was burned to the ground, by this point.

The realization made my eyes burn and I swung up, rubbing at my eyes roughly. I didn't want to cry. If I cried, I knew I wouldn't stop for a long while. It was just… something I did. I would hold back tears for everything, and then something would break the dam and I'd cry for everything that had happened these past six months. But I didn't want to cry just yet. I wanted to wait for Orson, and cry on his shoulder like I've done in the past. I wanted by 'brother' home before I cried. That well, it would feel like the nightmare was over.

So, I pushed myself up and walked out of the room, the stone cold under my bare feet. My shoes had been ruined by the mud and blood of the fight, and had been confiscated along with my clothes. I had a feeling that they'd be burned, meaning I'd lose that little connection to home as well. But there was no choice if they were ruined. I couldn't wear ruined clothes everywhere.

Moonlight caught me full on in the face, and I blinked at the sudden bit of light, even if it wasn't that harsh. Everything had been dark, and I hadn't expected to venture onto a balcony or some sort in my wanderings. I stepped towards the railing, and looked out over the horizon, just taking it in. It was pretty. I could admit that. But I could see even from here some blossoms that I knew didn't grow near my home, and there were certainly no lakes so close by. I wasn't home. Coming out here really made that clear.

"Are you homesick?" Princess Tana walked up slowly, and I realized she had called when she was quite a distance away, likely so that I had time to relax when she was by me. "I would be," she murmured. She looked out over everything too, and smiled sadly. "I love my home, but I imagine you'd prefer Renais."

"Well, Renais technically doesn't exist anymore," I retorted. I paused and winced at how blunt it was. "Sorry, that was…"

"I happily disagree with you." She smiled sweetly, unbothered by my bluntness. "Renais isn't a simple castle. Renais, like all countries, is the people. So long as people like you exist, Emma, Renais lives. And so long as Ephraim and Eirika are alive, they can rebuild your homes."

"...Well, I'll give you the Eirika part, even if I worry she's too nice." I grimaced as she looked confused. "No, no, don't ask. I'm liable to say exactly what I think, it's not flattering, and he's missing. I'd rather not talk ill about him to someone desperately worried. Again."

"Again?"

"I did it to Eirika, without thinking about it." I sighed heavily. I still felt horrible about that.

"Perhaps a short version?" She looked curious now. "Please?"

"...Prince Ephraim isn't well liked by his people, for numerous reasons that I shall not go into." I spoke slowly, mostly because I had to bite my tongue on every other word. Once literally. "That's all."

"Oh, huh. Innes always says Ephraim is his rival to being the 'perfect king' or something."

"From what I hear from merchants, your brother is more popular among his people than Prince Ephraim."

"What?" She actually looked startled. "Oh, but he's horribly tactless and blunt, always says exactly what's on his mind, has _no_ sense of empathy whatsoever!" She paused. "...Well, I mean, he can be nice. Sometimes. Maybe." She flushed as I started snickering. "What?"

"I was just thinking he sounds like _me_."

"You clearly have a heart. Sometimes, I'm not sure he does." She huffed and grumbled more unflattering things under her breath. "Ephraim, however, is a perfect gentleman, if oblivious."

"He doesn't exactly showcase that side to his people, _if_ he has it." I tried not to wince as I said the last bit. That wasn't fair. "Your brother, however, does show that while he might have poor people skills, he is committed to doing his duty. That's a key difference."

"Do people not want a kind ruler?"

"Of course, but we want a ruler we can trust to actually do things instead of sneaking off to enemy territory, with only three guards, for personal glory or some nonsense, because who cares that people are getting slaughtered and…" I trailed off when I noticed her wince and groaned. "I did it again. I'm sorry. You get a question."

"...Question?" Her wince faded for sheer confusion. "What question?"

"It's a thing Eirika and I set up. When I make someone uncomfortable by being too honest, she gets to ask a question. I'm extending it to you."

"Oh." She frowned in thought. "Aw, but I can't think of anything! That isn't generic, I mean. Can I save it?"

"Sure, you can. You might need to remind me, though."

"Done." She laughed, back to her high spirits. "Ah, I'm glad I snuck out, even if I did cause trouble."

"You snuck out?"

"Yep." She smiled, but there was seriousness in her eyes. "I was worried. I knew that if Eirika had escaped, she'd head for this point on the border. I wanted her to see a familiar face. I also thought that maybe this area would need help with evacuations, and I was right."

"It was dangerous."

"Yes, but I expected danger. I… got over my head, yes, but I didn't come here expecting it to be sunshines and rainbows." She sighed and looked up to the sky. "The world is going mad. I hope we can go back to sunshine and sanity soon."

"We'll see about that." I rested my arms on the railing. "What are you doing up?"

"I was checking that my pegasus was fine. He got injured during everything, the poor sweetie." She smiled warmly. "But if you'd like to still talk, I'm up for it. You look tired, but not sleepy."

"That seems like a good summary." I smiled back. It felt more natural, these past few days, to smile. "Then, if you don't mind, can you tell me a bit more about Frelia? I only know the stories my brother-in-law told me, and he was only ever here on missions."

"Sure!" She launched in a bunch of little tales, from what Frelia was known for, to some popular folk stories, to even her training as a pegasus knight. I got the impression that she was probably as naive and sheltered as Eirika, but she was also well aware of it, and wanted to expand her horizons, to be a 'proper princess' of Frelia, and to gain the respect of her father and brother.

If I closed my eyes, it was so easy to imagine her as Monica, just chattering about her day. I made sure to keep my opens though. I wanted to hear more, and it would be a disservice to Princess Tana to think of her as someone else.

* * *

 _Notes on Franz:_

 _A 16 year old cavalier, a recent knight of Renais_

 _As can be expected for his age, he is sincere and earnest, determined to serve his country to the best of his abilities. He's rather nervous and shy, though._

 _The son of a knight, and the younger brother of another, he looks up to General Seth and his brother, Forde, and strives to be like them._

 _Notes on Gilliam:_

 _A 29 year old armored knight, a long-serving knight of Frelia_

 _Known for his quiet, and dependable nature. Since he has served for so long, he has numerous friends among the knights. Heads the Eastern Watch._

 _Slow due to his heavy armor, but that suits him fine. He takes his job as a living shield seriously, shown by how he had to learn and adapt the Frelian fighting style to suit his left-handedness._

* * *

Author's note: And here we have the first official chapter, showcasing subtly how Eirika and Ephraim are both ridiculously reckless, the difference is that Seth indulges her in this for tutorial purposes (and there's less people here). Actually, Eirika and Ephraim are probably the same on the 'reckless' scale; they're more similar than people tend to think. Gilliam's animations shown him as righthanded like other knights (likely because of graphical limitations), but his supports with Garcia specifically mention him being lefthanded.

Right, so, Emma's growth rates (remember she has an extra ten levels like the other trainees):

HP - 80%, Str - 50%, Skl - 50%, Spd - 50%, Lck - 15%, Def - 35%, Res - 35%

Next Chapter - Interlude, Decisions


	3. Interlude - Decisions

Interlude - Decisions

* * *

 _Well, we've made it to Frelia. Even more surprisingly, we made it through mostly unscathed, and we even met Princess Tana along the way. So, now, we go with her, Sir Gilliam, and an entourage of knights, all the way to Serton, Capital of Frelia, and Castle Frelia itself._

 _This is the furthest from home I've ever been. I don't know what to make of any of this._

* * *

At Castle Frelia, we were instantly thrown into baths. Baths, freshly warmed towels, and some clothing to 'make do' while the servants found 'proper' clothes. Their 'making do' clothes were finer than anything I'd ever worn, but I bit my tongue on any sarcasm I had. The maids were nice, after all, and just doing their own jobs.

While we waited for 'proper rooms' and 'proper clothes', Eirika and I also _waited_ for King Hayden in some side study. General Seth and Sir Franz weren't with us; apparently some Grado forces had been spotted near some tower close by and they were asked to help out with the defenses there. So, we waited, and chatted, and we got onto talking about my home life. Eirika had only read about the life of a commoner, after all, and was eager to learn more.

"Harvesting always looks like hard work, but I never realized how much," she murmured, eyes thoughtful. I'd just gotten done explaining a typical day during the autumn. "Yet it's so vital. If the farmers didn't harvest…"

"Food would be harder to get, yeah," I finished. I shrugged, though. "Our village just harvested for, well, ourselves, so there's no wages involved. Some of the wealthier people would just hire folk to do that."

"Really?" She tilted her head curiously. "But not you?"

"Oh, no. I'm well-off, especially for a simple villager, but I'm not _wealthy_."

"Well-off?"

"Since my dad had been a knight prior to his death, we got a monthly stipend from the crown. Mom had her earnings as a mercenary, as well as her mustering out payment or whatever it's called from the Guild, which gave us a substantial little 'nest egg' so to speak from what she saved of previous earnings. Orson always shared his own pay with us, since we were his family even before he and Monica dated and wed." I shrugged. "So, well-off, but we still had to budget, work the fields, and make our own things where possible. Basically, we had to be careful, but if there was an emergency, like an illness, I never had to pick between starving and, well, being sick." We'd shared it too, with the others in the village. Everyone knew that if they were having trouble making ends meet, they just had to show up at our door, and we'd do what we could. No one had taken advantage of it, to my knowledge. "That's all."

"People have to pick between _starving_ and _illness_?" Her eyes widened and her voice went squeaky. "Why?"

"Medicine is expensive, and there's not a lot of churches, and healers, to go around. Renais isn't exactly well known for it's healers, and magic users, like Rausen and Grado."

"But…" Her eyes were still wide. "But, why would… who would…?"

I was saved from having to explain more when the door opened, revealing a man slightly younger than King Fado, though more worry lines creasing his face. Still, he smiled gently when he saw Eirika. "It does my heart good to see you," he whispered. "I have been worried."

"Yes, I managed to escape," Eirika replied, composing herself quickly. She got to her feet and curtseyed to the man. "King Hayden, I am so glad to see you, even in this trying time."

"I feared the worst when I heard of Ivroria." He came over and gave her a hug, breaking formality slightly. "I am glad you managed to escape that mess. Come, you should rest and recover."

"I have been very lucky. Seth helped me escape, and Emma cared for us." She gestured to me, and I awkwardly waved when King Hayden's eyes flicked over to me. "But before I go rest, you have information from there?"

"Some, yes."

"Then have you word of my father?" Eirika looked beseechingly at King Hayden. His wince told me what happened before he even opened his mouth. "Have you found out anything? Innes's spy network has always been adept…"

"...Yes, I have had word." He sighed, and brought a hand up towards his face, as if he couldn't decide to wipe away a nonexistent tear, or to try and ward off a headache. "I'm sorry, Eirika. But Fado… did not survive Renais's fall." He spoke slowly, like he was talking around something.

Eirika, however, didn't seem to catch it. I imagine few things got past the 'her father is dead' knowledge. I knew it had taken me a good few minutes to comprehend my mom's death. "No…" she whispered, shaking her head. "No, that can't…"

"You have my word that Grado will pay for this atrocity, if I have to corner Vigarde myself." He reached over and gently ruffled her hair in a very fatherly gesture. While I was sure it was simply automatic, I thought it horribly cruel. "Please rest here for now, Eirika. I'm certain you are exhausted."

"...What of my brother?" Eirika's voice was tiny, like she was no longer seventeen, but seven. I thought of how she'd lost her mother around that age, and wondered if she felt that age again. I'd felt like I was three again, a lost three year old again, when Mom died. "Do you have any…?"

"Yes, some of my pegasus knights brought back word at great personal cost." King Hayden smiled slightly. "He fights, even now. He charges into the heart of the enemy, and harries their soldiers at every turn." He laughed a bit, almost indulgently, but I felt my temper snap when I thought about it. "He was last seen in Renvall, across the border, though I know not his current condition. He is truly Fado's son, a valiant youth."

"Oh, gods, we're praising his stupidity now?" I growled, bristling. I had a few words I wanted to scream at King Hayden here, for even thinking that this was something to think fondly on! People _died_ for this feckless fool of a prince! "No wonder he thinks he can get away with everything! Having his cake and eating it too!" I leapt to my feet and barely checked the urge to pace and flail about. "All the luxuries of being a prince, while being the damn rebel who shows no gods damned appreciation for it, and goes running off at the first sign of danger…!"

"Emma?" Eirika yelped, startled. At least she no longer sounded fragile, though King Hayden certainly looked like he couldn't decide to be shocked, or to scowl at me. I didn't care. "Emma, please…"

"I'm just baffled at how he can call Ephraim 'valiant' when he lost soldiers! As if they're an even trade!" I was absolutely livid, both at King Hayden _and_ at Ephraim. "But whatever! I'll let that drop for now for the other main problem I have!" I glared, deepening it when King Hayden gave me a disapproving frown. It was stupid, since he was a king and I was just a commoner, a villager, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut on this. "You mean to tell me that instead of coming _back_ to see if his family is all right, if his _people_ are all right, he's just fighting damn Grado still?!" I was absolutely livid! How _dare_ he do this? I didn't even care so much at the moment that Orson was with him! _He was leaving his sister alone to deal with all this shit_! "Gods, curse some humility and sense into him, damn it!"

"Emma…" Eirika's voice was soft as she came over and grasped my sleeve and tugged it. "Maybe he hasn't heard? Information could be..."

"I still say that as a prince, he should've been here, and as a brother, he _really_ should've been here." I bit back the more vicious things I wanted to say. It would only hurt Eirika at this point. "Even if he's like 'oh, I will buy time to help them escape', it doesn't changed that he abandoned everyone in the first place, and he could've bought _plenty_ of time while running with you."

"...He really should've at least talked to the family of the knights before-"

"At the moment, it's not about Orson!." I took a deep breath, counted to ten, and released it slowly. If I kept my temper in check, I was less likely to say something that would accidentally hurt her, even if it was true. "I know damn well the pain of losing a parent. I know the pain of losing people. It's not fair that he not only just leaves you with the possibility of dealing with it on your own, but to add the worry about him on _top_ of it. So, I am _livid_. And that's just on what he's doing to you! What about the families of the scouts who died bringing that information back? They had to give up their lives to get even _some_ reassurance to you about him, because he's so. Gods. Damned..." I threw up my hands, giving up on speaking. I had to bite my tongue ten times just to say that last sentence. It was better to keep quiet.

"..." Eirika smiled at me suddenly, sad yet sweet. The pain was evident, but some part of her was touched I would get so angry on her behalf, despite knowing her for only a short while. Of course, in my opinion, I was perfectly allowed to worry over a girl I had taken care of for almost a week, and then traveled and fought alongside, especially when her brother was an idiot. "I suppose you'll add that to the lecture you promised?"

"Damn straight." I was sorely tempted to track down the families and _make_ him apologize! "Gods, did you take all the sense from the womb or something?" I took a deep breath again, actively trying to calm down. "That's… what? Two questions?"

"Three. One for King Hayden."

"Do I _have_ to?" I groaned as she nodded. King Hayden, for his part, definitely looked like he had no idea what to make of me. "Fine, three. But I'm still royally pissed off."

"And we'll bring it back down to two because I'm sure you'll want to scold me for what I am about to say." Eirika turned towards King Hayden, eyes determined, and head held high. I wondered how she could've recovered so quickly, and decided it was probably a noble thing. "I appreciate the offer of rest, King Hayden, but I intend on heading to the border, and beyond if I must, to meet with Ephraim myself."

"You… what?" King Hayden yelped. It was more than I could say; my jaw dropped. "That's a suicidal plan! I would be betraying Fado's memory if I-!"

"I am not requesting, King Hayden. I'm _telling_." Her eyes were firm, and I remembered what General Seth said about her being the 'stubborn' twin. "With apologies. I know you mean only to keep me safe. But safety is gone. Even if Renais has fallen, I am still its princess, and my brother is its heir. For the sake of my people, I must retrieve Ephraim." I was sincerely of the opinion that the people wouldn't care and had written him off already, but that wasn't the thing to say here.

"...I can give you very little aid. Some supplies, some money, _maybe_ a handful of soldiers. Frelia's army was never large either. Innes has already left with most to secure the border."

"That is fine. I will take whatever you are willing to give." She grinned. "Besides, I already have an army! I have Seth!"

"Well, Seth has always lived up to his reputation, but this still is…" King Hayden sighed, shaking his head. "Oh, why couldn't you two have inherited your mother's disposition? Why did you both have to inherit Fado's foolhardy courage?"

"Again, I'm sorry." Her grin softened to a smile. "But I will leave."

"Of course, and I have no doubts Tana will help you sneak out." He sighed again. "I shall gather what aid I can give you. It will be meager, but you will have my prayers with them."

"It is more than enough to see that not all of my father's friends have gone mad, King Hayden." Her smile sweetened. "Thank you."

"No, save the thanks for when you return, ideally with Ephraim. I wish to see you two laughing with my children again, soon." His eyes flicked towards me. "What of your friend?"

"Oh, Emma will-"

"Come with you, of course," I answered easily, smiling slightly at both of their stunned faces. I probably should've hesitated more, but I just… well, I had three reasons to definitely not stay here. ""For one, Orson is with him, and I am _tired_ …" I paused a bit, mostly to make time for her to giggle. She teased me for using that word often. "Of waiting. For two, Ephraim is there, and gods above, I am itching to scream at him for everything." I paused again, this time in thought. "Can I kick him?"

"What, no!" Eirika yelped, eyes wide. But she laughed. "No, no kicking!"

"Oh, come on! It'll just be on the shin, I promise!"

"No, verbal attacks only!"

"Damn." I smiled back, and kept quiet on my third reason. I doubted King Hayden would be very willing to put up with me, considering I'd screamed at him. While I still thought it was true, I… did effectively cut off any chance of staying here safely by being so angry and honest. I knew enough to recognize that. "So, I'm coming with you, Eirika. Unless you'd rather not put up with me?"

"I'm glad I don't have to say goodbye just yet." There was an edge of pain in her smile, and I thought it was because she was honestly _scared_ of leaving people behind now. Her father was dead, after she left him. Her _country_ was dead, after she left it. "Thank you, Emma. I'm glad for it." She turned back to King Hayden. "So, what preparations _can_ you give us?"

I hung back as the two talked logistics. It seemed smarter.

* * *

Word that we'd be leaving spread like _wildfire_ through the palace, and everyone, surprisingly, freaked out. Something about 'needing to get everything ready in time' or… something. I didn't pay much attention, just sat out of the way as everyone ran this way and that, until Princess Tana snagged Eirika and me to be fitted into armor and some clothes that were easier to move in. It felt… weird. At this point, given the state of everything, I'd been given even new underwear, with everything from my home gone. So, I kept myself absolutely quiet as some maids fitted me with some chainmail, heavier than anything I'd ever worn before, and some little bits of armor, basically something like what Eirika and Princess Tana wore. With the dress and boots, I realized they were outfitting me like I was a pegasus knight, likely because I just _couldn't_ wear a lot of weight.

"I still can't believe this," Princess Tana sighed from her seat in the corner, among bunches of pillows. She turned pleading eyes towards Eirika. "Must you go through with this? I cannot even begin to imagine how you feel, but this is much too dangerous!"

"I have to, for my own sake, and for my country," Eirika answered, smiling sadly. She hugged another pillow to her chest, and I wondered why they ignored the chairs in the _other_ corner. "I'm sorry, Tana."

"And if you're captured?" Tana whimpered. "Oh, what is _wrong_ with the world? Emperor Vigarde was always devoted to peace, and you and Ephraim consider Prince Lyon among your dearest friends. Hell-"

"Tana!"

"Heck, you're in _love_ with Lyon! You were planning on confessing, next time you met!" Tana sniffed, eyes welling with tears, and I looked up at the ceiling and pretended I didn't hear anything. The maids did the same. "Why is this happening? Why did he go mad?"

"I don't know, Tana. I only know that I must fight. It's the only answer I have anymore, and I am poor at it. I always preferred words. That's why we need Ephraim. If he and Innes work together…"

"They'll probably turn it into their stupid rivalries." Tana grumbled more unflattering things under her breath, wiping roughly at her eyes. "Who can kill the most soldiers or something."

"A little bit of normality might be nice." Eirika's smile was wan, but it warmed as she looked over at me. "Oh, Emma, you look like a warrior maiden from a story!"

"With hair and eyes of blood, and shining armor?" I instantly retorted, grimacing as the maids fussed over my hair. They insisted on giving me a helmet too, so they were figuring out a way to tame my unruly hair into something easy to pin. "I feel like I'm playing dress up again."

"Again?" Princess Tana repeated. She scooted a little closer, eyes sparkling. "What do you mean again? Did you ever wear your mother's clothes or something?"

"As my sister delighted in telling me, I once threw on my dad's chainmail shirt when I was a kid and insisted on toddling everywhere with it on, despite it easily being the same damn weight as me, and it being in a huge puddle around me." I almost shrugged, but the maids tapped my shoulders to stop the motion. I felt _really_ weird being fussed over by so many people. "Dad apparently thought it hilarious, and carried me about while still wearing the stupid thing. I also would wear Mom's old mercenary armor, or Orson's."

"Did you want to be a knight?"

"Not really, no." I played it, yes, but I always knew the dangers of 'being a knight', thanks to Dad dying. "Besides, you don't get a lot of females in Renais's army. It's frowned upon."

"It is?" Tana looked confused. "But females make up a large part of Frelia's."

"Frelia also has _pegasi_ , who don't tolerate male riders for unknown reasons." Stories liked to play on 'purity of heart', but I always rolled my eyes at that. "So, of course you do. But Frelia and Rausten are the only ones who have always had females in their army. Grado only recently let females join."

"That's mostly because of General Selena's influence," Eirika added. She smiled slightly. "Before her, there weren't… many. Those that were there tended to not last for some reason."

"Similar reason for why you don't have any in Renais's. Harassment," I replied. That's what I heard from Orson, at least. "There's been crackdowns, but it's difficult progress. Grado has the advantage of General Selena, though. Renais doesn't, and works against the stereotype of 'women do not belong on the field of battle'." I'd always grown up thinking that was nonsense, thanks to Mom. But I did remember others in the village, like Helena, discouraging Mary and me from 'being the knights' during make-believe play with the others. Mom had always just laughed. "Anyway, the point is that no, I never really wanted to be. I just thought the army was neat."

"Reminds me of Ephraim." She giggled, and she burst into laughter as I gave her my best look of playful horror. "He'd always run around wearing armor he could snatch. He wanted to go off and be a mercenary."

"Of course he did." I let the playfulness die for a frown. "Bet he only focused on the glories of being a mercenary, and not all the hard work, planning, and sheer damn luck involved. I _had_ a mercenary for a mother. She lost an eye because an employer decided that he had the right to force himself on her since he'd contracted her for a job, and then he stabbed it out when she refused." Mom never hid that from us. I knew she hid other, more horrible, stories, but how she lost her eye, and retired, she never hid. Well, from us. She'd tell others a different story every time. "Being a mercenary is rough. Jehanna is forced into it because the desert makes it difficult for them to keep up food and the like."

"Is this one of the things you plan on lecturing Ephraim on?" Princess Tana asked. She looked curious, while Eirika only sighed. "What? I like him, yes, but you can't blame me for being curious."

"It might come up?" I replied, a little confused. I honestly thought they were both getting rather invested in this lecture, and wondered if it was simply because 'looking forward to it' helped them keep on the hope Ephraim was still alive. "Maybe?"

"I don't suppose you could wait to lay into him until Innes is within earshot?" She giggled, but there was some sadness in it. I decided I was right, and that they talked about it simply because it gave them additional hope. "I think he could use some of those lectures himself!"

"Princess-"

"Ah!" She held up a finger, like a scolding mother. "Just Tana, please."

"...Tana." I paused, trying to think of just how my life went from simple melancholy to being on first name basis with two princesses. "If you would like, I will give your brother his own, tailored, lecture. As soon as I learn more about him."

"You will?!" Tana actually squealed. "Yay~!"

"Tana, I thought you loved your brother!" Eirika scolded. Her eyes sparkled too much, though, for it to be a 'proper' scolding. I wondered if they extended it to Innes. He was on the front lines, after all. "Why ask for that?"

"Because someone needs to tell him he needs to get the foot out of his mouth before he bites it off, but he won't listen to anyone!" Tana huffed. "Especially me!"

"I can't say I ever had arguments like that with my sister," I murmured absently. She and I never really argued, even with my tactlessness. She'd scold; I'd tease. But… "Then again, she had such a gentle disposition…"

"Really?" Tana's eyes sparkled again. One of the maids fussing over me giggled, hiding her smile quickly. "Tell me more?"

"Well…" Slowly, haltingly, I did share some memories I had of Monica, and some stories of the things we'd get caught up in. As I talked, I realized that… well, it hurt. There was no denying that. But it wasn't a 'bad' pain. It was like the pain of a healing muscle, or of a muscle being stretched to make it easier to move.

I hadn't even noticed I was starting to heal. When did that happen?

* * *

After being fully fitted, and told that 'more would be made for me', I was whisked away for another set of baths, and then into a _different_ dress for a formal dinner celebrating Eirika's safe escape from Renais, complete with speeches. The whole situation was so damn bizarre that I kept my mouth shut and tried to focus on eating. But while I was certain the food was delicious, it was richer than I was used to, especially these past few months where I'd barely eaten anything, and because of my nerves and feelings of uneasy, I might as well have been eating dirt for all that I actually tasted. I might as well have just left my plate empty for all that I'd ate, and I avoided the wine provided for simple water, nursing it as people chattered happily around me. I wondered if inviting me was King Hayden's revenge for my earlier shouting, hidden as being an 'honor'. I then wondered if he'd even thought about it being uncomfortable for me.

After the 'dinner', I was escorted to some guest rooms and had to chase the maids away when they tried to help me dress in a nightgown… only to sheepishly ask them for help when I realized I couldn't get the damn dress they'd given me for dinner off because there were buttons and snaps on the _back_ , exactly where I couldn't quite reach. Thankfully, they simply took it in good humor, and _did_ leave me to dress myself once they'd gotten the buttons and snaps undone. But that was when 'holy shit, I am far from home' hit me again, because the nightgown was finer than anything I would've worn, and there was a soft, warmed robe for me to throw over it. The bed was soft, filled with more pillows than I knew what to do with, and it was scented with sandalwood. The room was as large as my living room, made of stone like the fortress, and the scene beyond the window was nothing like I would've seen. Pegasi, for instance, flew freely through the skies, and that was something you'd _rarely_ see in Renais.

I did watch them fly for a while, hoping that maybe it would calm me, make me sleepy, but instead, it just… added to everything. My life was so weird now, and it was only going to get weirder. Just a month ago, I was a just a regular girl, mourning her dead sister, trying to figure out how to piece her life back together, again. Now, I was literally in a castle, in a country I'd never even desired to visit, about to travel to a _different_ country alongside a princess, because there was a war going on. A month ago, I'd never desired to fight. Now, I've actually killed people.

My life was so upside down. I felt like I'd fallen into one of those stories Monica would read me, or one of the make-believe play things I used to do with Mary, Jacob, and the others.

Sighing, I gave up and threw on that robe before quietly leaving my room to simply walk around. Of course, not two steps away, a guard called and asked if I needed anything. It took a bit to explain that I really just needed to walk, and even then they actually escorted me to the 'inner gardens' and instructed me to let them know when I wished to return to my room. It took me a second to realize this was all because they were on alert because _anyone_ could be a potential spy or assassin. I was actually having to deal with things like this. It made no sense at all.

Still, the gardens were pretty. The moonlight turned everything into a mess of silvers, blues, and whites, but it worked for this garden, and the wind blew gently, scattering various scents about. There was no sound, really, hinting that there were no fountains or anything here. It was just a garden, with perfectly paved paths throughout. The stone was cold under my feet, but smooth, without even a single fallen petal marring it. I smiled a bit bitterly at that, since it was so _different_ from what I was used to. There were no paths through gardens back home, and in the woods, you wouldn't have had such a clear place to walk. Stepping outside had only further hammered home how far away I was.

I wished I could go back even a month ago. I'd always been exhausted, could fall asleep without a thought, and never felt so out of place.

"Ah, Seth!" The gentle voice nearly made me squeak, and I ducked down behind a rose bush instantly. "I didn't expect to see you."

"It's been a bit, Syrene." That was General Seth's voice, so I cautiously peered around the bush to see him talking with a lady about his age, maybe a little younger, wearing the armor of a Frelian pegasus knight, and a brown headband to hold back her long green hair. "I didn't think you'd be up and about at this hour," he continued, bowing slightly. He wasn't wearing armor, but something about how he held himself hinted that he'd been wearing it not long ago. "Did you get back from a mission?"

"I did, actually," the woman replied, confirming herself to be 'Syrene'. "How did you guess?"

"You always said you liked walking through the gardens after a mission. Tried to drag me on it."

"Yet, here you are, without having to drag." She laughed a little. "Did it work?"

He shrugged. "It's similar to the gardens in Renais."

"So, it did." Her smile warmed. "You've calmed. Last time we talked, you would've snapped."

"Shortly after we last talked, I was tasked with guarding Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika. Being a protector calms you quickly."

"I suppose it does. My own temper quickly cooled when I started training Princess Tana. Though, mine was never as fast as yours."

"You also had a little sister, whereas I was…" He smiled slightly. "What was the phrase again? Spoilt brat of a… I forget the last bit."

"You did not. You're just trying to trick me into cursing like a sailor again." She laughed, though, showing no hard feelings. "I always did regret parting as we did. So many angry words, and all because neither of us were willing to give up our duty for anything."

"Lacking the wisdom to compromise." He shrugged again. "It happens. I've wanted to apologize for the harsh words."

"The feeling is mutual. I was worried I might not ever get to, considering what's happened." She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at him curiously. She held herself with perfect posture, just as General Seth did. "I did make the acquaintance of another knight of Renais, though. Kyle, I believe?"

"He is one of Prince Ephraim's personal knights, and thus, is with him."

"Of course." She sighed heavily. "So little information, and what I know isn't good."

"And what _do_ you know, if I may ask?" General Seth's face grew grim. "King Hayden talked around King Fado's death. Do you know why?"

"Likely." She paused, closing her eyes. "I don't have all the details. Our spies had to escape quickly. But he was tortured before dying. They wanted some sort of information, and he kept his silence." General Syrene shook her head, crossing her arms. "Nothing on what it was. Only that he was tortured mercilessly, and was… in a lot of pain. The spy saw Prince Lyon try to heal the injuries, but when the healing magic failed to take, he simply chose to end his suffering. The two were apparently talking, but too softly to hear."

"I see." General Seth's face grew even grimmer. "I wished they could hear."

"As do I." Her eyes sharpened. "Do you know what he might've been keeping quiet?"

"Syrene, there are a _great_ number of things my king kept secret. I know many of them. As such…" He shrugged, his expression now impassive. "There are a million and one things it could be. Without more information, I cannot even begin to guess."

"Right, of course." She sighed, drooping. "Gods, I am tired."

"I'm sure." Hesitantly, he lifted his hand. But then he winced, and dropped it. "It's been a long few-"

"You're injured, aren't you?" She smiled ruefully at him. "You always hid your wounds."

"It's been tended to. I am fine."

"I learned not to trust your 'fines' a long time ago, but…" Her smile faded. "You can't afford to not be 'fine' right now, same as me. Our countries need us now, more than ever."

"That they do." Conversely, General Seth actually smiled at her. "It is our charge, and our pleasure."

"Too true. Even if it did lead to things between us ending because we were too passionate." She smiled back, just slightly. "You'll be heading out in the morning, but won't you have at least breakfast with me? Like old times?"

"Meaning you'll tease me mercilessly to trick me into agreeing to see a healer." General Seth's smile grew a little. "You needn't trick. I plan on seeing Moulder in the morning. He travels with us."

"Then I have little to worry about." Her smile warmed. "But still. Breakfast? It'll be an early one, I promise. I have to head out myself, perhaps even before you lot do."

"...Sure, we can do that."

Hearing them walk off, I quickly went the other direction, towards the guard, hoping they didn't notice I was there. It didn't feel private, and it was their own fault for conversing in a public place, but I still felt in the wrong for listening in.

* * *

"And there." General Seth stepped back, nodding. "You may take a break."

"Oh, thank freaking everything!" I groaned. I stumbled over to the bench and collapsed, breathing heavily. "Ugh… I ache."

"That just means you're working," General Seth replied, showing no mercy. He even seemed to be in a good mood, and I sourly wondered if it was because of the breakfast he'd had. "It's a good thing."

"Orson was right. You're a kind man, and a brutal teacher." I groaned again, and snatched a canteen of water to guzzle. "Ugh…"

"Her highness did mention you are Orson's sister in law. I thought you looked familiar." General Seth set his lance against the bench and passed me a towel. "There's this portrait Orson carries with him everywhere. Well, there's three of them. He always said they were of his families."

"One is his birth family, one is of my family back before Dad died, and one is of him, Monica, and me, painted shortly after they married." Orson's parents died when he was little, because of bandits. Orson became a knight to help fight off bandits and their ilk, so that no child would go through the pain he did. While he'd officially lived with the elder like most orphans, Dad always made a point of keeping an eye on him. When Dad died, Mom made it no secret that Orson would still always have a home with us. "Yeah, I'm the little girl with red hair in the pictures."

"His stubborn, rash, and honest little sister." General Seth laughed a little. "He'd tell us all sorts of stories. He was always so proud of his family."

"I'm now terrified of what he said."

"Good things, I promise, if silly. Dinners became a lot quieter after his wife died." He paused, and I could see he was trying to think of how to say something. I could also see him resolve to talk about something else first. "That would mean you are Sir Alex's youngest."

"I'm surprised you know the name. He died before you were a knight."

"There are many who talk of Sir Alex still, and I was at the castle at the time." He shrugged. "Sir Alex, Sir Garcia, and Sir Felix, the Knightly Trio, who fought beside each other and never lost a single battle."

"...Unless Dad decided his gut was a suitable sheath for a poisoned knife." I knew the stories. Sir Garcia and Sir Felix had even visited my house, once. "Then Sir Garcia retired because of his wife's death two years later, leaving Sir Felix all alone to die to another assassin, another two years later." I paused and groaned when I noticed his wince. "I did it again. Damn it. You get a question."

"...I what?"

"Get a… oh, just accept it for now. I'll explain later." I sighed. "Fine, fine. You know him because he was a knight while you were a squire or page or something, and because he's held up as a symbol of knightly honor or something." He still died and left behind a wife and two girls, one of which was so young that she literally had no idea why her dad would never come home. "Yes, he's my dad."

"...King Fado…" General Seth hesitated again. "He had hoped to be able to talk to you directly, when you moved in with Orson in Ivroria. To apologize, personally."

"He still thought about him?"

"Sir Alex, and Sir Felix for that matter, were always in King Fado's thoughts. Every day, he would whisper how he had to see his duties through, as otherwise, the two would laugh at him. He never wanted to make their ghosts feel like their sacrifices were wasted." General Seth smiled slightly. "He'd apologized to your mother, at the funeral. He apologized to your sister, when she visited once. He'd hoped to apologize to you as well."

"...Unless he hired the assassin to kill him, it wasn't his fault." Yes, Dad died protecting him. But Dad was the one who made the mistake and got gutted for his troubles, and the assassin was the one who actually killed him. King Fado's only guilt would've been indirect, being too weak or reckless or whatever to defend himself. That was all. "Though, I suppose if he had the guilt weighing on him for fourteen years, my words would mean nothing."

"They would mean a lot." He hesitated again, and this time, I thought he was going to use this a as a lead in. "I… have also wanted to apologize to you, Miss Emma." He looked truly remorseful as he actually bowed his head to me. "I… was the one who gave Orson the mission to Carcino, that led to him being away when your sister…"

"...Monica's death isn't your fault. Neither is Orson being away, really." I spoke slowly, trying to think through the sludge my brain became at the reminder that I had been _alone_ while watching Monica die. "It just… happened. The healers had given Monica more time, and so, she insisted Orson do one more job for the crown before going on vacation to spend her last days in peace. Orson agreed, since it was a simple one." But sudden rains had damaged the road, delaying his return, and Monica's condition had taken a rapid and unexpected turn for the worse. "It's not your fault that those damn tumors appeared, and took over her lungs and…" My voice cracked, and I closed my eyes, willing away the tears. I still remembered the day the healers told us Monica was going to die, that the tumors were too large to safely remove, thanks to how frail her body. I could still feel her hand in mine go limp, just seconds before Orson burst through the door. I could still remember Orson's agonizing scream, and my throat ached with the memory of my own tears.

Her last words had begged me to tell him that she loved him, and that she was sorry for not being able to make it. She could hear him running, but she just couldn't hold on any longer. I had promised. Then she'd closed her eyes and… just went to sleep. And never woke up.

"It's not your fault," I repeated. "It's no one's fault. The gods… just wanted Monica's kindness for themselves, and how can I blame them? She was wonderful." I lifted my head, which felt like it had been filled with cotton, and smiled at him. "It's worse, actually, knowing there's no one to blame. I could almost thank Prince Ephraim for giving me a target for my anger." He took Orson away, after all. He was why I was alone still. "Maybe I'll remember that, when I yell at him."

"...Maybe," General Seth replied. He smiled back, but it was pained. He still blamed himself. Honestly, that just meant a lot to me. He thought enough of it, and felt bad enough for it, that he blamed himself. It told me he was just as kind a person as Orson had described. "Do you want to learn how to fight while riding? I know you plan on leaving Peachblossom here, but..."

"...No. Not at the moment, at least." I took a deep breath and stood up, setting my feet to better my stance. "Maybe if Eirika gets a horse, I will. But for right now, I want to match her and guard her back. She's horrible at it, and I noticed I actually bother to fight when I'm protecting someone. I don't care otherwise."

"I see." He smiled slightly, simply acknowledging that my apathy could kick in at bad times, not worrying about it. That soothed me, for some reason. "Then, let's work on getting your stances firmer. I'll teach you the same style I taught Prince Ephraim."

"Good, I can kick him more easily then." I grinned and he actually cracked enough to laugh. "Let's go. I'm ready."

* * *

Author's Note: The first scene, and part of the second scene, are the 'last' part of Chapter 1 in game. 'Sir Felix' is technically a character in game, just never named. He's Forde and Franz's father, mentioned during Franz's A support with Seth. I went with an 'F' name to match the theme, and for a little bit of… I suppose irony ('Felix' is derived from a word for _lucky_ ).

Emma yells at Hayden simply because he's like 'my soldiers died telling me that Ephraim still fights on in enemy territory alone, what a brave young man he is' and that's… well, that's something that would piss off Emma, partially because she's heavily biased against Ephraim, and partially because she feels like it's saying Ephraim is 'worth more' than those dead soldiers.

There is nothing in game that states how Monica died. I chose a combination of a frail disposition and cancer. There is also nothing that suggests Seth and Syrene know each other, not even supports. I threw it in.

Next Chapter - The Protected


	4. Chapter 2) The Protected

Chapter 2) The Protected

* * *

 _And so we leave Frelia, making our way towards Grado. King Hayden gives us three soldiers, including a healer, some money, and some supplies, apologizing for not being able to send more. I'd kind of hoped Eirika would realize the recklessness of this plan, but she's stubborn as all hell, as if she simply takes this as a challenge. Either she's as reckless as Ephraim, or she's trying to emulate him since we're in a war situation. Neither sound good to me._

 _Seth has a map planned out for us, and so we swing by a remote village of Ide, barely within the borders of Renais. I have a bad feeling, though. Remote villages… always went down quick in the stories. No one could protect them anymore, after all, and bandits always existed._

* * *

Gilliam joined us, and Franz continued tagging along. A pegasus knight named Vanessa had been with us, but she went ahead to scout, at Eirika's orders and Father Moulder's suggestion. With General Seth, and myself, that meant our little party was a grand total of seven. _Seven_. We weren't even twice the size of the group Ephraim took with him down south.

I shifted awkwardly, wincing at every little bit of noise I made. It wasn't loud, but it was off. I shouldn't 'clang' with each little movement, and there shouldn't be any weight on me. But there was, because I was wearing armor now. I held a hand in my hand. It was just so… odd. I was a soldier, technically, in a group of other soldiers. I never did anything like this before. I never wanted to.

"You look tired, child." Father Moulder, whose name brought to mind a boulder covered with mold, walked over to me. "Did you not sleep well?" he asked, studying my face. "Vanessa states you were awake when first watch ended."

"I slept as well as can be expected," I replied. I tried not to stiffen. I knew priests were skilled at healing, but it was hard not to remember how the only times I'd ever dealt with them, they _failed_ to save my loved ones. I knew it wasn't their fault, and certainly not his, but it was hard. "There's little need to worry about me."

"I am afraid I disagree. King Hayden specifically asked that I might speak with you."

"Oh. Great." I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes, now just feeling sour. "Is it about how I'm a horrible person for yelling at him? Because I get that yelling at him is a stupid thing already."

"If King Hayden were less kind, it would have been. I imagine those who speak out against Emperor Vigarde right now will find themselves executed."

"Is this an attempt to convince me of how lucky I am? Because I already know that if not for being Eirika's guest, I likely would've been imprisoned or something." I gave him a droll look, but he continued to simply study me. "I also already know that kings have duties, sacrifice the one for the many, are allowed to be selfish because they're people, are allowed to make mistakes… what else am I missing?"

"I could lecture you on how you cannot read people's minds and do not know what they are thinking, but I imagine you'd point out you're already aware of that." His eyes narrowed slightly, but not a glare. Simply worry, and contemplation. "Combined with some other things I have heard, I should simply come to the conclusion that your brutal honesty is born from anger, bitterness, and a disregard to your own life."

"...Huh?" My expression blanked, but he still just… watched me. "What the hell?"

"You are angry over the sudden changes in your life, bitter towards those in power, though you also acknowledge how things are really no one's fault. You are nursing an old pain, a reopened scar, one that shapes your very being because of how deep it is. You are, however, honest by nature, and do not believe in hiding except to protect someone else. Your anger bleeds over, likely because of a selfish, but understandable, desire to see someone else in pain, because then you feel a little less alone in your own. Misery likes company, after all. But you also have no real value in your own life, and that gives you a reckless courage. It's easy to be brave when you are not afraid to die."

"...I never said I'm not afraid to die." I thought of Valter, and barely checked the urge to shudder. I'd been afraid then. I'd been _very_ afraid then. "But you seriously came up with all of that just now?"

"No, it is simply an opinion based on these past few days of traveling, and the typical patterns I see in people." He shrugged. "Every person is unique, but many in pain tend to act the same. That is what I see in you."

I was saved from answering by Vanessa returning. "Bandits to the east," she called, sounding remarkably calm for the news. "A village has already gone under torch; we'll likely see the smoke before long. I saw two people escape, but one, a child, is injured."

"Well, this has become a dilemma," Moulder murmured. He glanced at Eirika. "I can treat the injured, but sadly, they're too far away. We'd need to get closer, and to do that…"

"We have to help," Eirika whispered. Her hands were shaking, but her eyes were determined. "I cannot… we cannot simply stand by while others die. We have to at least try. Vanessa, can you retrieve the boy at least?"

"I will do what I can to find and ferry the injured," Vanessa promised. She saluted before bowing, still seated on her pegasus. "Shall I simply bring them directly to Father Moulder?"

"Yes, please." Eirika smiled. "Seth, determine the best way to utilize our smaller force. I'm going to go warn the nearby villages." She glanced back at me. "Do you mind coming with me, Emma?"

"Sure, that's fine," I reassured, shrugging. It wasn't as if I knew what to do in a situation like this, and I wasn't exactly in a hurry to go off and continue killing. "Right behind you."

So, Eirika and I raced off to the village not far away, while the others charged forward to assist where able. As soon as we crossed through the village gates, I noticed a few things. One, this area expected danger, since it actually had _gates_. It had a _wall_. These people must've dealt with threats frequently.

Two, this village was like mine. Before the war. It was happy, and lively. People laughed and smiled. I wished I'd spent more time appreciating my home. I wished I hadn't spent so much time being depressed over Monica. But then again, it had been slowly dying ever since the war began. There wasn't much to 'appreciate'.

I walked through the village slowly, helping some tripping children right themselves as Eirika ran ahead, shouting her warning. I smiled reassuringly at them as they looked frightened, and nudged them towards their parents. Then, I quietly followed Eirika's path, wondering what my home looked like now. Were there buildings left? Was it just a bunch of rubble? The rain would've made it hard to burn, but they could still destroy things. Did corpses line the paths? The fields had likely been trampled…

Another child tripped next to me. I caught them and helped them on their way. As I did that, I found Eirika talking to a lady with blonde hair, a green cape, and clothes that were simple, but _clearly_ expensive.

"You're no simple traveler, being so well-armed," the woman murmured. She held herself in a deceptively relaxed posture. "Who are you?"

"My name is Er…" Eirika began. She hesitated, and I nearly facepalmed. I had a sneaky suspicion she was rather bad at lying. "Erina. I'm a mercenary."

"A mercenary named Erina?" The woman's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" She took off one of the her gloves and offered it to Eirika. I stiffened, recognizing what was going on thanks to Mom. This was a common trick among mercenaries, to check if their clients were nobles like they said. "My name is-"

"Rina, there you are!" I called, purposely shifting my voice slightly, trying to emulate my mom's rolling Jehannan accent. I waved and walked over as both of them jumped and turned towards me. "Oh, whoops, are we in front of a client?" I smiled at the lady as I came to Eirika's side, doing what I could to mimic Mom's lazy walk. I used to copy her all the time; Monica and I made a game out of it. But _this_ game had some stakes to it. "The name is Emma. Erina and I are a mercenary duo traveling with some others while we get through this lovely little hellscape the country has turned into. Safety in numbers and all." I held out a hand to her, nodding to Eirika. "She didn't act pompous or anything on accident, did she? She's the daughter of a count, and gods, some days she acts like she's still in court, despite the two of us being partners for three years."

"Three years?" the woman repeated. She took my hand automatically, with the ungloved hand, and I noticed the faded, but still there, calluses. She was common-born; no noblewoman had calluses on her hands like this. I knew mine were the same. "You look so young."

"Not uncommon for a Jehennan to be a mercenary young, miss. The desert is harsh, and the sandstorms, more so." I grinned, silently thanking Mom for everything because emulating her was _really_ helping now. "I'm even worse, as the kid of a merc. It's why we got nice stuff. Inheritance. So, you looking to hire?"

"Actually, yes, I would like to." She stepped back, and tugged her glove back on. This woman was intelligent. "My name is Selena."

"...Wow, a Grado General herself." I nudged Eirika again, this time to make sure she didn't look quite so shocked. "Didn't expect one way out here."

"I was looking at the Frelian border, and was called to return. Sadly, though, since Prince Lyon's message tells me it is utmost importance, I must make haste. It is rare that he calls on me, and I worry for him, given this war." General Selena shook her head. "If you are mercenaries, though, I should like to hire you to deal with these bandits. That way I can continue with my orders, but do not have to leave these people undefended."

"Well, can't say that I mind some bandit killing. But you're Grado, right?" I narrowed my eyes. "Why you even bothering? The bandits are only attacking because you lot attacked, right? Taking advantage of the chaos?"

"That is even more reason to involve myself. These are people, not soldiers-"

"Soldiers aren't people now? That's new."

"...I misspoke." She smiled slightly. "They're civilians. It isn't right for them to suffer because their leaders fight."

"But anyone with a knowledge of history knows they're the first and last victims of every war." I shrugged. "Whatever. We'll cut you a deal, since it's _bandits_ , and they suck."

"Whereas you might have charged me more, since I am of Grado." General Selena reached into her pack, and pulled out a handful of beautiful red gems. As she did, I caught sight of a beautiful pale green gem, set inside some sort of clear case. "Fluorspar."

"Pardon?" I glanced up at her, and noticed she was smiling slightly. "I know you're called the Fluorspar, though I doubt that's your last name."

"No, like those of Renais, non-nobles don't have a 'family name'." Her smile grew. "The gem in the case is a kind of Fluorspar, the one Emperor Vigarde gave me. Like the other generals, I keep it close."

"Oh, it's pretty." I held out my hand, and took the small red gems. "Payment received. We'll route them."

"Thank you. I can leave with little reservations." She glanced at Eirika then, who smiled sweetly. "A count's daughter?"

"Yeah, why?" I paused and then made myself laugh. "Oh, wait, we had this happen before. Last time we were in Ivroria, some Renaisi knight confused her for Princess Eirika and threw a damn _fit_ at his precious princess being in a tavern!"

"I… was wondering, yes." Her eyes narrowed slightly, and I could see there was still some suspicion. But there was nothing she could prove, especially with Eirika keeping her mouth shut, so she simply nodded. "A shame. Prince Lyon had begged for any information I might come across about his friends. He's worried desperately…"

"Really?" It was easy to be surprised. "Even with their countries like this?"

"Yes, well…" She shrugged. "Regardless, they're his friends."

"True." I glanced at Eirika, and saw her shift awkwardly. She wanted to reassure, but to do so would out her, to a Grado General, while the two of us were alone. But still… "Heard a rumor she made it to Frelia. The princess."

"Is that so?" General Selena gave a genuine smile then. "I'll let my prince know. Thank you."

"Well, it's just a rumor." I shrugged. "Well, we need to get to doing that job."

"And I must be off." She bowed to us. "My thanks. Stay safe."

"We'll try." I put the gems in Eirika's pack, while Eirika waved goodbye to General Selena. When we heard her ride off, I slumped, feeling like a rag doll suddenly. "Holy hell, that was something."

"I need to learn to lie like that," Eirika noted. She laughed a bit, but it was high, tinged with nerves. "I _really_ need to. I was certain I was going to give it away."

"It doesn't help that people know you as a noble on sight, just by how you hold yourself," I pointed out. That wasn't her fault, though. "Slump more or something."

"I'll think about it." She sighed, leaning against me. "I'm glad you intervened. I'm bad at lying."

"I could tell 'Erina'." I gave her the most incredulous look. "You seriously almost gave her your real name!"

"Yes?" She had the grace to look sheepish before she frowned. "Wait, but you gave her yours!"

"'Emma' isn't that unusual, and isn't attached to anything remotely related to the royal family, missy!" I groaned and she sighed. "Whatever. We made it, and got paid, and the village is getting its gates shut, so wins all around." I glanced down at my hand, though, thinking of what caused me to get involved in the first place. "Hey, Eirika?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to shake people's hands for a bit." I held out mine for her to feel, specifically the calluses that lined my palms and fingers. "You're developing some calluses from your sword, right? But you don't get these just from that, and you have lots of lotions and the like, right? That can be felt even through your glove, I'm pretty sure. Not as well, which is why she took hers out, but she was feeling for calluses."

"I did have lotions, to smooth out my hands." She poked at a particularly large one, and I thought it was from helping in the fields. "Ephraim would tease me about it, saying that I'll never have a warrior's hands with those."

"They're the hands of someone who worked for a living. I imagine that if Ephraim did his job, he'd have a callus on his finger or something from holding a pen." I smiled slightly. "So-"

"Teach me?" She glanced up shyly. "Teach me how to sew or things like that? I was never allowed to do anything but embroidering."

"...Sure. As soon as we have time, and thread. I'll even teach you how to cook."

"I've always wanted to learn." She smiled. "We should… join the others, though."

"Yep." I grinned and closed my hand around hers. "Come on. I have your back."

"And I have yours." She grinned back, but I saw the fear in her eyes. I knew she saw the fear in mine. "Let's go."

* * *

"Agh…" I hissed as an axe struck me across the arm again. No bleeding, this time, but I could really feel the bruise forming, under everything. Lances really didn't hold up well against axes, as I rapidly discovered.

"I've got you!" Swords, however, did wonderfully against axes, apparently, since Eirika was dodging a lot more than I was. Then again, she was also luckier than me by a long shot. "There's so many," she whispered. She wiped the sweat off her face, and smeared blood across her cheek. I chose against telling her. "Why are there so many?"

"Remote reaches and bandits go hand in hand," I told her. I caught sight of an archer, and darted around her. "Get down!" She dropped, letting the arrow fly over her head, and I lunged forward, skewering the archer. It took me a few attempts to jerk my lance out, though. I had no idea how Gilliam could do it so easily… strength, perhaps? "Frontier villages are often ignored."

"I see…" Eirika looked saddened by that. "My poor people…"

I debated saying something to try and comfort her, but a loud yell startled both of us, and I whirled to see a young boy wielding a hatchet charge for a bandit, with poor Franz desperately trying to keep up, _despite being on a horse_.

I blinked slowly, convinced I was hallucinating from exhaustion, but when the scene didn't change, I turned back to Eirika, who looked similarly baffled. "Who's the reckless loudmouth?" I asked. "I don't recognize him."

"You were helping the villagers secure the gate when Vanessa brought him back," Eirika explained. "His name is Ross."

"So, the injured one, who is not being an idiot and undoing Moulder's work." I sighed heavily. "Let's maneuver to get closer to him? It seems they're heading for the woods, and Franz will have difficulties maneuvering through that."

"Yes, let's." Eirika led the way, and I followed closely behind, trying not to trip over the various debris. We didn't exactly have fields of corpses, but there were a lot of splintered branches and weapons scattered about.

Of course, as we approached Ross, he'd gotten himself into trouble, mostly by picking a fight against a particularly strong looking bandit and getting his arm injured. Eirika gasped and tried to run faster. I debated chucking my lance like a javelin, and seeing if I could get lucky. A look around showed Franz had left, likely to fetch Vanessa, and there were no others near as the bandit swung his axe up and back, planning on getting a little extra momentum for a harder hit.

Then the axe slipped from his hands, because a different axe cleaved his skull in two. I skidded to a stop, startled by the ferocity, and my eyes widened when the corpse fell to reveal the wielder of said axe.

His face was older than I remembered, with more lines, and he wore simpler clothes. But I did recognize him, after a moment. Sir Garcia.

Eirika hadn't stopped. She'd gone straight to Ross and helped him up, letting him lean on her. Ross mumbled something, looking frustrated and embarrassed. Sir Garcia just watched them closely, silently, as if he didn't know what to make of any of this.

He certainly bristled when I stepped forward and accidentally snapped a twig. He paused, though, when he whirled to look at me, axe stopping mid-swing. He simply studied me, with fierce eyes, and I remembered how Dad always explained how Sir Garcia's glare was often enough to unnerve his enemies. I could easily believe it now.

"...It's a pleasure to see you again, Sir Garcia," I whispered. I didn't know what else to say. I felt horrifically awkward. "My name is Emma."

"Emma?" he repeated. He slowly relaxed. "Alex's youngest?" He looked almost incredulous when I nodded. "You grew."

"Little girls have a habit of doing that." I looked around the area, mostly as an excuse to not have to look at him. I felt like I was three again, and wondering why Dad wouldn't come home, and why Sir Garcia kept on crying. The last time I'd seen him had been Dad's funeral, after all. "Oh, Eirika, General Seth is riding over here, so I'm guessing the bandits are routed." That, or they had fled.

"That will be good," Eirika murmured. She fussed over Ross, who made a face but didn't protest. "Emma, do you mind getting Moulder?"

"Yeah, sure." Eager for the excuse to escape, I dashed off, tripping over nothing in my haste. I passed General Seth on the way, who gave me a worried look, but I waved him off, intent on finding Moulder as soon as possible. I found him before long, checking on an injury Franz had taken to his leg. Franz waved when he saw me, and Moulder nodded absently towards me. I wondered where Gilliam and Vanessa were, but then saw them in the distance, towards a village to the south, and figured they were ensuring there was no damage there. So, I-

"You… you blasted fool!" Ross's sudden shout made me jump and whirl, but it was apparently the extent of his loudness. From here, I heard nothing else, simply watched Ross flail and glare at his dad, while General Seth and Eirika stood awkwardly near. I wondered what, exactly, they were talking about, but shrugged and continued heading over to Moulder.

"Ross kid is injured again because he's reckless," I explained as soon as I was close enough, not even bothering with a greeting. Moulder nodded again, and continued examining Franz's wound. Franz shifted awkwardly on the rock he sat on. "How did you get hit, Franz? Forget that your legs aren't as armored?"

"Yes," Franz whispered, face coloring from embarrassment. He smiled sheepishly, and pointed to where his horse was grazing nearby. "I was trying to make sure they couldn't hurt my horse, and… well…"

"Nearly lost your leg. Idiot." I smiled to soften the words, and his own widened. "Though I guess your horse has less armor than General Seth's."

"Yes." He sighed, drooping. "I have to get stronger."

"You and the rest of us." I went to ruffle his hair, but I saw how bloody my hands were, so instead, I patted his shoulder. "It's fine. No one dead, yeah?"

"Not this time." Still, he smiled. "I'll be okay."

"Yes, you will," Moulder confirmed. He stood up slowly, and pulled down Franz's pant leg. "Go join Gilliam and Vanessa, Franz. No riding, and mind that leg. I'll give it another check later." He turned towards me. "The boy?"

"Over there," I said, pointing to where the other group was clustered. I saw Eirika walking this way and waved. "He's on his way!"

"I figured!" Eirika laughed, waving back. She bowed to Moulder as he passed, and smiled at Franz as he walked away. "So, we'll help the nearby villages secure their walls before continuing on. And see if they've extra supplies they can lend us, but considering everything…"

"Everyone's going to hoard what they can," I murmured. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, grimacing at how much _pain_ I was in. I ached all over, and I swore I felt every tiny little scratch. The stories never mentioned anything like this. "Since no one will have any idea on just how much they'll _have_ in the coming months. Merchants might not even travel."

"True." She sighed, reaching up to rub her temple. She winced at the movement, and I wondered if she was in as much pain as I was. "I hope at least they have an extra bedroll or two for Garcia and Ross."

"Yeah, that'll be…" I trailed off as I realized what she said. "Wait, they're with us?"

"Yes, they'll be traveling with us." Eirika smiled. "Isn't that good?"

"Well, I suppose?" I was worried for Ross, truthfully, but I did have to agree that having 'twice' Ephraim's numbers was definitely preferable. If his dad agreed, I didn't see how I could say anything else. "I'm worried about baby stories."

"Oh, right, he would've known you." Her smile became a grin. "I'm going to ask!"

"Eirika!"

* * *

The villagers had offered to let stay with them, but we refused, both to get just a little bit extra distance, and because we worried about rumors. The longer we lingered, the more likely tales of us would reach Grado. We'd already accidentally ran into _one_ Grado General already, and we knew a second at least had been torching the countryside. Our 'stealthy' little group wasn't doing that good of a job on stealth.

Still, the villagers shared what they could, giving us more food and some basic essentials, like a couple more pots and bedrolls. A couple of the women had given Eirika, Vanessa, and me extra pads, and warned us to be careful, since stress could alter our monthly cycles. One even gave us some tea mixes for cramps. We were all so touched that we could even _begin_ to comment on how we didn't have an extra tent. It wasn't as if we couldn't share anyway.

When it came to make camp, though, we got into little arguments over who _would_ share. King Hayden had given us enough tents for everyone, so at worst, only four would have to share. Garcia and Ross instantly offered to be one of the pairs, easy for them. The arguments, therefore, resulted over who would be the other pair. Because everyone in the group was damn noble-minded about it. After a bit of circular argument, I'd literally just seized a tent, set it up, snagged Eirika's stuff, threw it in, and then threw in mine before crawling inside to change into some clean clothes and out of the armor. Afterwards, I told Eirika the tent was empty for her to change, and then asked if everyone would get their dirty clothes off so that I could wash them.

Eirika had given me a victorious grin. The rest of the group gave me little stares, though Sir Garcia had burst into laughter. Supposedly, my dad had pulled something similar, once.

After that, Vanessa and I had done laundry, while Sir Garcia and Ross cooked, Eirika and Franz cared for the horses, and General Seth and Gilliam double-checked the perimeter. Things continued to be remarkably quiet throughout the night, with a few scares from passing does and birds. Ross had freaked out over a hawk, and that had made us all laugh, though it wasn't a 'normal' laugh. It had been too loud, too high, to be anything but mocking, mocking ourselves, and near-hysterics, because everything was literally going mad around us. It was on that note that we all went to bed, and Vanessa and Franz took up first watch.

However, I couldn't fall asleep, and just laid there in my bedroll, staring at my hands. I picked at my nails, so certain there was still blood on them, despite the fact that between the quick bath I had, and all the washing, there really shouldn't be anything on them. If there was blood, it might've been mine, _because_ of the repeated washing drying out my hands.

Blood on my hands… Mom had always hoped Monica and I would never fight for a living. She had always hoped we'd be able to live without ever having to bloody our hands. 'We live in prosperous Renais,' she had always said. 'And your father was a good man, and we live in a good village. You two will never have to kill to not starve.' I supposed it was still true. I didn't kill to make sure I didn't starve. Instead, I killed because this was war. If I didn't kill, I would die. I didn't really want to…

The thought made me pause, and I curled into myself, thinking about what Moulder had said earlier. A complete disregard to my own life, huh? I supposed… that was true. I didn't necessarily want to _die_ , but… I supposed I didn't necessarily want to _live_ either. I was afraid to die, but I wasn't really attached on living either. I was apathetic towards the whole idea, too drained to even make a decision on that.

But, really, if I died, would anyone care at this point? Orson was the only person who'd mourn me. Maybe Helena, Sam, and a few others from the village, but really… _if_ something happened, few would be affected anymore. So, maybe that did play a part in why I yelled. I mean; I yelled at a king. If I'd been with anyone but Eirika, I had little doubts that the yelling would've gotten me in a _hell_ of a lot more trouble. I wasn't stupid. No one yelled at kings, assuming they could even get close enough to yell in the first place. Which wasn't likely. They stayed in their castles, running the country, and things remained stable that way. They got their fancy shit in exchange for keeping the country _safe_ , for being there for the people, for taking care of everyone as best as they could. They had some of the hardest of jobs, and so, they were 'paid' well for it. Fancy clothes, fancy foods, fancy houses… doctors that tended to you when you got pneumonia instead of dying from complications because there were too few healers and even less medicine.

That was why Ephraim pissed off so many people. He didn't do his 'job', yet he still got 'paid' for it. Worse, when others _died_ , he was the one who got praised. Maybe King Hayden didn't mean for it to come out that way. Maybe he'd been just trying to comfort Eirika, and it came out badly. People misspoke. I did all the damn time, and often, I 'misspoke' by simply speaking at all. I knew that. I also knew that intentions meant jack shit compared to action. That was why I got in trouble a lot, speaking so much. I might intend to only speak the truth, but if I hurt someone, it was my own damn fault, and even if I didn't 'intend' to, it didn't change that I did hurt them.

But maybe Moulder was right. Maybe I _did_ say some things to hurt, without realizing it, because I wanted some sort of consolation that _someone else_ was suffering too. I wasn't sure how much I liked that…

Some whimpering caught my attention, and I pushed myself up to see Eirika curled up in a ball, shivering. I scooted a bit closer, and gently tapped the side of her pillow, just loud enough to make some noise. She still startled awake with a gasp, blinking slowly even as her eyes darted around. It took her a moment to focus on me, and she opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her throat, so her mouth moved uselessly for a bit before she closed her mouth, and simply shrugged.

I studied her for a moment, noticing her pale face, the sweat dripping down her neck, the tears in her eyes. She'd been having a nightmare, likely of the fall. It took me only a moment to realize that as different my life was now… hers was just as different. She felt just as lost, likely, but still tried to hold strong. But that didn't mean she wasn't afraid, just like me.

So, without a word, I shifted things so that our bedrolls were side by side, with our blankets thrown over both of us, and settled down into the little nest, waiting for her to do the same. When she did, looking both touched and confused, I began whispering some of my favorite fairy tales, such as Sleeping Beauty and Donkeyskin. Stories I'd memorized, because Mom had read them to me, when I had trouble sleeping after Dad died, and Monica had done the same, when Mom had died.

The tears in her eyes faded with each little story I told, and shyly, she whispered some that she loved, like Snow White and the Ill-Fated Princess. They weren't necessarily stories children _should_ know, but they were comforting, both to her and me, and we whispered any and all we could think on until we fell fast asleep.

Fairy tales had happy endings, mostly. It was nice to hear of them, when everything was so uncertain.

* * *

 _Notes on Vanessa:_

 _18 year old pegasus knight, who keeps calm in all situations_

 _A recent knight, who takes things seriously, perhaps too much so. She has difficulties relaxing, though she has a drier sense of humor_

 _Tends to her pegasus, Titania, carefully, and enjoys teaching others how to care for the wings_

 _Notes on Moulder:_

 _34 year old priest, who has served as an advisor for quite some time_

 _Takes on a fatherly role with ease, as well as a mentor role. He encourages people to come speak to him for advice. Has a sharp eye, to discern things about people with only a handful of words. It's useful for cutting to the heart of matters._

 _Can be a bit absent-minded, though, and devoted to his work to the point of forgetting things like dates._

 _Notes on Ross:_

 _15 year old boy, training to be a warrior like his dad, who he is very close to_

 _Wild and impulsive, who still hasn't outgrown the idea that being strong means showing no weaknesses, and that recklessness is courage_

 _Like me, he has very little experience in fighting, or even training, but he throws himself into lessons with vigor. I want that energy._

 _Notes on Garcia:_

 _45 year old fighter, a famous among the knights, one of Dad's friends, who came by once or twice when I was little_

 _Retired from the army when Risa, his wife, died, and shows some signs of being out of practice. Still, he's skilled, and his mind remains sharp._

 _However, his personality hasn't changed. Fierce on the field, but gentle off of it, and always willing to listen and give advice._

* * *

Author's Note: Technically, there's another scene for this chapter (Actually two, but one happened off-screen), but I moved it to the next chapter to help things flow a little better. Garcia is mentioned to be around Dolza's age, and Dolza is confirmed to be 47 in a support conversation. As for fairy tales, I looked up random ones that I thought might be able to be 'adapted', so to speak, to Magvel.

Technically, Eirika has the extensive conversation with Selena, but considering how Eirika also goes with the most paper-thin disguise ever, and only gets away with it because Selena's like 'I have more important things to worry about', I'm guessing Eirika's a poor liar, and had Emma step in to make it a _little_ more plausible that Selena believes them enough to let it go. As a result, the conversation is extended a bit. Fluorspar (also called Fluorite) is a _really_ colorful gem, with various shades possible, and Selena's has no color mentioned in game, that I could find. So, I picked 'green' because Selena's cape is green.

Next Chapter - The Bandits of Borgo


	5. Chapter 3) The Bandits of Borgo

Chapter 3) The Bandits of Borgo

* * *

 _After a brief break to battle, we continue on our journey south, passing close to the mountains. The locals urge us to be careful, as these mountains are the home to vicious bandits, likely the same ones that razed Ide. Ross wants to hunt them down, but we manage to talk reason into him. This is a stealth mission. Killing bandits wasn't stealthy._

 _Of course, knowing us, we were about to run straight into trouble anyway._

* * *

The problem with being the lone villager with a bunch of soldiers? I was the best one at cooking, especially with the limited rations we had. Meaning that I 'conveniently' was always on cooking duty while the others rotated through camp chores. I supposed I should be thankful, since it meant I got out of things like latrine digging, but it was still a bit annoying. At least everyone was thankful for the food.

"The peppers was one of Alex's tricks, wasn't it?" Garcia asked. Everyone would have one 'rotation' off, and he was the one off today. "I remember him using that to make our meals a little brighter."

"So I'm told," I replied. I tried to keep my tone even and polite, but I wasn't sure how to respond. I felt like I was three again, except in a body far too big. "Monica was the one who taught me."

"Ah, right, that… makes sense." He shifted and prodded the campfire a bit. It didn't need tending too; I'd used the same distraction just a few seconds ago. "How _is_ your sister doing? I imagine she's worried about you, all the way out here."

"Not really. It's hard for corpses to worry." I shrugged at his startled look. "Monica died six months ago."

"...Ah." He grimaced. "Was it… an accident like Tabitha?"

"Like Mom? No, it was just… illness." I felt awkward. This was awkward. I wished he'd just shut up. "She'd always been frail."

"Ah." He looked awkward too, and we both breathed a sigh of relief when Ross suddenly called for him. "I'd better go see what he wants."

"Yeah." I made sure to smile as he left, but I sighed and slumped when I knew he wasn't paying attention anymore. That had just been…

"Everything alright?" Eirika asked, coming over. She sat down next to me, her hands red and pruning from scrubbing the dishes. She could actually do it on her own now. I had to help her the few two times. "That looked…"

"I haven't seen him since Dad's funeral," I explained. I sighed again, reaching back to braid my hair. "I'm surprised he even knew Mom died."

"That's the Tabitha he mentioned?" She hummed a bit when I nodded. "Strange. My mother spoke fondly of a 'Tabitha'. I wonder if they're the same."

"It could be? I mean; my dad was a knight, and Mom used to visit. They probably met, once." Although, now that I thought about it, Mom made a mention of doing a job for Queen Esther, back when she and Queen Ismaire were mercenary partners. "You all right?"

"Yeah. It's strange cleaning, though. I never even thought about it before." She sighed, and looked up at the clouding sky. We'd have rain before long. "If… any of them are still there, when we return, I'm going to personally thank every servant in the castle."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate that." I shrugged, not quite sure what to say. "Let's go take a walk."

"Huh?" She gave me an incredulous look. "Why?"

"Might make you feel better." I stood up and stretched, squeaking a bit as my back popped. "Come on."

"H-hold on a moment!" She squeaked as I pulled her up. "Seth will definitely not-"

"Leave convincing our nanny to me." I tugged her after me. "Come on."

It took quite a bit of negotiating, but General Seth did finally agree to my idea of Eirika and I going on a little walk, not far, and with our weapons, and he'd come to get us once he was done with his own chores. Even with all those permissions, though, we really only went to just out of sight of the camp, still within easy yelling distance. The idea was just to get away from the camp for a bit, to see if Eirika would cheer up a little. However, I thought I made a mistake when Eirika just grew quieter. She sighed quite a bit, drooping more and more with each step.

Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. "Hey, Eirika," I whispered. She stared off to space, not even noticing when I stopped walking. "Eirika." Still nothing. "Eirika!" _Still_ nothing. "Eirika!" This time, I noticed someone else coming down the path, a boy with long, dark blue hair. "Eirika, get out of the way, there's a-" I winced as the two collided, and both started apologizing profusely at each other. The boy quickly darted down the path, stepping off after a moment, but I thought I noticed a small smirk on his face.

"Oh, goodness, I was really out of it, wasn't I?" Eirika murmured. She gave me a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I rested a hand on her shoulder. "I intended to bring you out here to clear your head. Should I not have?"

"No, it's fine. I was just…" She sighed. "I know you hate him and all, but I was thinking of my brother."

"...My feelings on your brother don't really matter. I'd be surprised if you weren't thinking of him." I squeezed her shoulder, smiling. "I mean; I think of Monica still and she's dead. Your brother might still be alive."

"...Right!" She gave me a brave grin. "So…"

"Lady Eirika, Miss Emma, there you are." General Seth walked up then, looking a little cross. "You went farther than I expected," he chided. Eirika and I exchanged a sheepish look and shrug. "You should…" He trailed off, frowning. "Princess Eirika, did you take off your bracelet?"

"My… bracelet?" Eirika repeated. She glanced down to her wrist, and frowned, tapping it. "No, I… well, I did, but I put it back. I know I did. How did…?"

"Oh, that boy must've been a thief," I mused. That would explain the smirk, then. "It's a common trick for pickpockets. He probably undid the clasp when you collided, and then he used the apologizing to cover taking it off." I'd been pickpocketed like that, once. Orson had chased them down for me. "Well, damn, I really should've-"

"I'll go after him," General Seth declared. He immediately left, not even letting us respond.

"Seth!" Not that Eirika didn't try. "Seth, I'd rather just go after my brother!" she called. He kept on running, clearly not listening. "Gosh… dang it." She sighed, and then squirmed when I gave her an incredulous look. "What?"

"You… are adorable," I said, settling on that. I could've sworn I'd heard her curse before, but that might've just been my own filter bleeding through. Or just a very rare thing. "Regardless, it looks like jewelry is serious business."

"It's just a bracelet!"

"Eirika, no offense, but I somehow doubt he'll react this much if it was _just_ a bracelet." I crossed my arms, thinking. "What even is it?"

"It's just… something my father gave me. Ephraim wears a similar one. We got them the year after our mother died. It was too big for me then, but..." She sighed. "But, honestly, if that bracelet helps that man get food or something, I couldn't care less. Why is Seth making a fuss?"

"Well, Eirika, obviously he knows something about the bracelet you don't." I shrugged. "Come on. We're going to be left behind."

She simply groaned in reply, and I snickered, unable to help it. This was just too strange to not be funny.

* * *

Ross was so smug when we tracked the man to the bandits' stronghold. All of us basically had to lecture him to get him to stop smirking, and much as I wanted to deal with the bandits, I was rather irritated that we had made the decision not to, and _still_ found ourselves dealing with them. It was annoying to have decisions rendered invalid by weird coincidences.

"I still can't believe it," Eirika whispered. General Seth and I were with her, a short distance away from the others. Gilliam was standing guard nearby, while Moulder tended to some scrapes Ross had managed to pick up. The rest were scouting the bandit stronghold we were standing in front of. "Bandits… in Renais…" She looked both mournful and incredulous. "I would hear about them, but they were always… I mean…"

"Distant, and not nearly as bold," I supplied, mostly because it was true. "Burning villages, huh? That's something you never really saw. Ambushes and death, sure, but…"

"Stealing from our people without fear of reprisal…" Eirika looked ready to cry. "I know Father always was sending knights to protect people. Some would attack, but they were always…"

"It was a job we did proudly," General Seth whispered. He looked sympathetic at the two of us. "But with Renais in ruins, there are no knights to defend the people. Many died, and others scattered. The army is in tatters, and thus, law and order become hard to find."

"But what about Grado?" Eirika whispered. Her fists clenched. "Emperor Vigarde.. Lyon…"

"The fact does remain that they seem to hold no interest in maintaining order. Whatever their goal, it was not simple conquest. Thus…" General Seth gestured to the stronghold. "Renais descends slowly into savagery."

"Lyon must be in tears over all of this." She looked down, and I wondered what was going through her head. I still remembered what Tana had let slip. "If we could reach him…"

"I imagine he's being watched closely, your highness." General Seth kept his voice gentle, but she still drooped. "I will go check with the scouts."

"Yes, thank you." Eirika managed to smile as General Seth left, but she let it fall once he was out of sight. "I'm not sure if the world is going mad, or if it has always been mad and I just never noticed."

"Combination, I think," I answered. It was probably meant to be an open-ended musing, but I couldn't help but reply anyway. "It seems like more of a jump than it is, but it's still a pretty big jump." I might've continued, but a sound distracted me and I glanced back to the path behind us. "Is something there?" No reply, but I saw a pebble roll out from behind a nearby rock. "Hello?"

"E-excuse me?" A young, timid woman stepped out from behind the rock. Her clothes looked ragged, and her hair looked messily chopped short. "Um… are you…?" she began. Her eyes darted around, and she trembled like a leaf in the wind. "Are you all… mercenaries…?"

"We might be," I replied. I glanced at Eirika, who nodded. "Why ask?"

"P-please, help Colm!" The girl surged forward, standing right in front of us, and looked at us pleadingly. "Please! I'll pay whatever, but I told him it was too dangerous, I did, but he wouldn't listen and he just-"

"Easy, easy…" Eirika murmured. She took the girl's hand gently, and resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Take a breath and explain things from the beginning."

"R-right…" She took a shuddering breath, her eyes filling with tears. "My name… is Neimi. I'm from…" Tears began sliding down her face, marking paths through the dirt smeared across her cheeks. I hunted for some sort of cloth, and Eirika pulled out a handkerchief from nowhere to wipe her face. "I used to be from a village called 'Lark'."

"Used to…?"

"It's gone… Bazba's bandits attacked and…" She sniffed. "Colm and I were the only ones who made it out. We'd been heading to the river to fetch some water, so we were far enough away… still, the fires were horrible..." She tugged at the ends of her hair, and I guessed she'd lost most of it to the flames. "Colm… came here, though. Afterwards. He… he wanted to steal back something they took from me, or that we think they took from me." Her voice cracked, and the tears really started falling. "But I don't care about the mirror if Colm… if Colm…"

"Who is Colm exactly?"

"My… my friend. We've known each other since we were kids. And I… I have a crush on him. He's mean, but protective, and he's always doing dangerous things on his own, but this is too much, and..."

"And he didn't even consider how you'd worry yourself to death," I summarized. She sniffed and nodded, bringing up her hands to wipe at the tears. Eirika headed her off with her handkerchief. "Gods, either he's super good, super cocky, or he _really_ wants to impress you." I glanced at Eirika. "Well, we're heading in anyway. Why not keep an eye out for her Colm?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," Eirika replied. She smiled softly, and sadly. "Besides, Neimi is a citizen of Renais. Because my family failed in their duty, she lost so much…"

"Your family?" Neimi repeated. She looked adorably confused, like a kitten. "What do you mean by…?"

"My name is Eirika, Neimi," Eirika answered. Neimi's eyes widened. "I am so sorry that we were too late to save your home. But, I promise, we'll make sure your friend is safe."

"Oh…" Neimi teared up again. She cried so easily. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"It's no trouble." Eirika glanced back at the stronghold. "Though, I'm still not sure how we're getting in…"

"I can… help." She smiled shyly. "My grandfather and I used to hunt here. I know it well, and there's a way around the guards. Unfortunately, Colm knew it too, so that's why he…"

"Will you show us?" Eirika beamed as Neimi nodded. "Wonderful. We'll get the others."

"Yeah, it's killing time," I deadpanned. I hoped we found her Colm alive and well. "Stay close, Neimi. This might get a little crazy."

* * *

Neimi's path was a little winding, and a bit hard to walk, but it got us right to a crumbling part of the back entrance without being spotted. Garcia and Gilliam widened the crack to let us through, and we snuck inside, splitting into smaller groups to not make as much noise and better set up ambushes. I'd ended up with Eirika, as expected, and Neimi, who volunteered to help us out.

"You sure you're going to be alright?" I asked her as we peered around a corner. There were bandits within, which basically meant there was no way to go forward without a fight. "I mean…"

"I should be fine," Neimi replied. "A human is… hunting is hunting. These ones… act worse than beasts…" She spoke hesitantly, like she was trying to convince herself. "I should… be okay."

"Don't feel bad about freaking out." I smiled at her, patting her shoulder. "I broke down when I killed. It's tiring."

"Yes." She gave me a wan smile. "But, I promise. I'm not bad with a bow."

"It's your mental health I'm worried about, not your skill."

"Unfortunately, though, we're out of time," Eirika whispered. Her eyes narrowed, and the hand holding her rapier shook. "They're coming close. If we don't strike now…" I only nodded, and readied my lance. My arms were tense and stiff. I didn't want to fight. But we had to. "Three… two… one…"

We still hesitated after the 'one'. But we whirled into the room and struck, and the three of us taking advantage of our speed to cut through their guards. I focused on the sword wielders, with torn and ragged badges that hinted they were washed up mercenaries, while Eirika disabled the axe users, who… really stank. I wrinkled my nose as we fought, wondering when they'd last had a bath. Then I wondered when I could have one, because all the blood and sweat made me feel like I needed to scrub a layer of skin off.

After skewering the last 'mercenary', a little yelp made me jump and twist, wincing as my knee protested the sudden movement. But I didn't care, because the yelp had been Eirika slipping in some blood and falling, just as an axe was swinging down, right for her face. But before I could open my mouth to scream, an arrow flew, fast and true, and struck the bandit straight through the _eye_. I shuddered and squirmed at the sight, but I couldn't help but cheer when Eirika got back to her feet, and used the momentum to drive her rapier through the guy's throat. He dropped like a stone, and both of us turned to Neimi, who looked ready to cry, and was shaking badly. But she smiled, because… well, she'd made it.

"Thank you, Neimi," Eirika whispered. She smiled back. "I'm glad you're here."

"It's no…" Neimi began. She stood shook, and she laughed a bit. "Oh, I'm not sure if I'm going to faint or throw up. Or both. Or neither. I'm just so happy I made that shot."

"I know the feeling. I'm not sure which I want to do myself." She giggled, and it sounded higher than normal. "Ah, wait, enemies…"

"None are left in the room," I pointed out. I did look around to double-check, but all I saw was blood and corpses. I felt like I needed to jump into a lake, armor still on. "I'm still too full of battle fever or whatever the soldiers call it, but we should press on while that's going and-"

Something behind me. I heard something behind me and whirled, almost losing my lance with the motion, but I managed to catch and spin it, driving the point straight towards whatever made the sound. Neimi yelped, though, and I jerked back as whoever it was dodged to the left, and I slipped in some blood, falling right on my ass.

But then I blinked slowly as the 'something' slowly solidified from a mess of blurs to an actual person, a boy with long, dark blue hair who looked a little familiar for some reason.

"C-Colm…" Neimi whispered. She smiled warmly. "Colm, you're…"

"Neimi, what are you doing here?!" The boy stepped around me, and bolted straight for her. "I told you to wait for me at the cave," he scolded, scowling. I saw the very real fear and worry in his eyes, though. He'd assumed she'd been safe, and well… she hadn't. "So, why are you here?!"

"B-because it's too dangerous…" Neimi sniffed, tearing up once more, and tugged at his sleeve. "Let's go home."

"We don't _have_ a home anymore!" There was an awkward silence there, and even I winced at how blunt that was. "I…" He sighed heavily. "Look, just leave everything to me, okay? I'll be done, quick as a flash, and I don't need a clumsy-"

"She's actually saved Eirika's life with her arrows," I pointed out, pushing myself up. He gave me an incredulous look. "Yep. It was cool. Stop with the whole 'teasing girls you like' thing, by the way. You're lucky she knows you well. Most girls would run screaming the other way."

"That's…" Colm began. His face went red. "Oh, this is ridiculous. Neimi, just… stay close." He pointed to a door. "Boss guy is that way."

"I guess that's where we head?" I looked over at Eirika, who nodded. "Well, Colm, will you lead the way."

"Yeah, sure, except one thing." His eyes narrowed. "Who the hell _are_ you two?"

"My name is Emma, and that's Princess Eirika." I grinned as his jaw dropped, and Eirika helpfully waved. "Anything more to add, Eirika?"

"Not at the moment," Eirika laughed. Despite the blood dripping from her hair, she seemed rather cheerful now. Perhaps reuniting Neimi and Colm gave her hope that Ephraim would be okay. "So, this way?"

"Y-yeah," Colm replied, sounding a little squeaky. "Let me take point. There's been traps all over."

"I see. Thank you very much."

"Sure." He gave Neimi an incredulous, 'what the hell is going on?' look, and Neimi simple giggled. "Right. Here."

He led us through the next few doors, skirting the edges to avoid being caught or setting off traps. Every once in a while, we caught sight of the others fighting, but we pressed forward until we reached the 'boss', set up on an ornate chair like it was a damn throne, all alone. When there, the four of us quickly planned out how to actually go about fighting the guy, and with a vague 'should we be praying right now?' feeling, I stepped up, serving as the 'bait' for this.

"Well, well, I didn't expect to see a pretty girl among the intruders," the boss drawled. He eyed me up slowly, smirking. "You'd make a pretty penny."

"I'd point out slavery is illegal, but somehow, I doubt you care," I whispered. It disgusted me, though, that the second the knights left, they'd started on that. "It is also illegal to whore someone out against their will."

"Women are so fragile. They're easy to break." He stood up, moving slowly like he was trying to exert dominance. I rolled my eyes, not impressed. "You might be fun, breaking."

"The last guy who said that got a burning log to the face." I tried not to squirm at that memory. Valter… I hoped I'd _never_ see him again. "I doubt you'll fair better."

"Brave words, wench." He laughed, brandishing his axe. "I'm the head of this pack, the Mighty Bazba!" He smirked viciously. "Hope you've enjoyed your life, because it's about to end!"

"Joke's on you, as I don't really care about any of that." I ducked as he swung, leaving himself wide open. Now, here was hoping Neimi… "Besides, you're alone, and I'm not. Who's the real loser here?"

"Hu-AUGH!" He jerked back as an arrow slammed into his shoulder, just deep enough to make him drop his axe. I jumped back as Colm and Eirika slid into view and struck him a total of four times.

He dropped dead, with only a little gurgle to expel his last breath. We nudged the body a few times before turning to each other and grinning. I couldn't believe that had actually worked!

"Is everyone alright?" General Seth walked in, and he looked startled to see Bazba on the ground. "...Well, it seems I worried too much," he murmured. He smiled slightly. "You took care of that well."

"Well, we got lucky, since he was alone," Eirika pointed out. She walked over to him, frowning worriedly. "How are the others?"

"They're fine." He continued, of course, giving Eirika a detailed report, but I tuned it out, battling the urge to vomit. I wasn't sure if it was because of the battle, the killing, or the memory of Valter.

So, instead, I looked to Neimi and Colm, where Neimi was smiling at Colm. "Colm…" she whispered. "You're…"

"What now?" Colm sighed. "I could've robbed them blind without help, thank you."

"I was… worried…" She sniffed and began crying. Again. I was actually impressed. "You're okay. You're okay."

"H-hold on! Hey!" Colm looked almost frantic as she bawled. "I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry for worrying you! Don't start sobbing!"

"You're okay…" She leaned into him, crying into his chest. "No more dangerous stuff… on your own… please…"

"Fine, fine, I promise." He sounded dismissive, but his smile was soft. "Hey, look at this." He reached into his pack and pulled out a beautiful mirror, just large enough to be held. "I got your mother's mirror back. I told you I could. Guaranteed results."

"Colm…" Neimi sniffed and took the mirror, clutching it to her chest. She still leaned into him. It was really easy to see which one she preferred, even if she did get both. "Colm…"

"Oh, come on, I thought that would make you stop crying." He sighed, and wrapped his arms around her. "Please stop crying, Neimi. I'm sorry."

I watched them for a moment, before I couldn't help but ruin it to clarify something. "So, you snuck into a bandit hideout filled with murderers and slavers, just to retrieve her keepsake?" I asked, not quite sure I understood. Both of them yelped, and jumped apart, Neimi rubbing the tears away. She just smeared blood across her cheeks. "Really?"

"W-what of it?!" Colm snapped, glowering. "Yeah, I did, so-"

"So damn impressive, actually." I grinned. "Talk about a passionate act."

"It's…" Colm's face went red, and he glanced around, not making eye contact. "...I'm just the only one allowed to make Neimi cry." Neimi smiled at that. "That's all."

"It's cute." That sheepishness, though, reminded me of just _why_ he looked familiar. "Oh, wait, you're the one..." I held out my hand. "Pass it over. I know you have it."

His expression blanked instantly, but there was a defensive glint in his eye. "Don't know what you're talking about." Yes, he did. Both of us knew it. This was likely why he'd had a brief panic when I told him Eirika's name. "Not a clue."

"Is that so?" I smiled slowly and I turned to Neimi, who looked confused now. "Hey, Neimi, we were actually coming here hunting for someone who stole Eirika's bracelet. It's a keepsake from her father, so…"

"That's horrible!" Neimi gasped. She tugged Colm's sleeve, and he gave me the dirtiest 'you did _not_ just do that' look. "Colm, I'm sure you found it with my mirror, right? Please?"

"...Yeah, I 'found' a bracelet," Colm sighed. He reached into his pocket and brought it out. "This it?"

"I think so," I replied, taking it and holding it up. It was simple in design, but there was something… odd about the blue gem set inside. "Eirika!" I waved Eirika over, and she made her excuses to General Seth before turning to me. "This your bracelet?"

"Ah, yes!" Eirika replied, running over. She slipped it on and smiled, eyes soft with relief. "How did you find it?"

"Colm here did."

"Thank you, Colm." Eirika smiled sweetly, with a knowing look in her eyes. She knew Colm was the one who had stolen it, but we wouldn't out him in front of Neimi. It would simply be our little secret. "I greatly appreciate it." She let her smile fall. "What will you two do now, though? We're continuing into Grado, to find more information on my brother."

"Wow, enemy territory, huh?" Colm frowned, and crossed his arms. "Well, how about you take us with you?"

"What?" Eirika's jaw dropped. "W-why?"

"We don't have a home to go to anymore. No matter where we go, there's going to be fighting." He looked to Neimi, who nodded. "I'm a handy guy to have around, and… well, if nothing else, Neimi's a good cook. And hunter. Even if she's clumsy and a crybaby." I almost glowered, but Neimi actually giggled, so I just decided it wasn't my place. "We'll honestly be safer with you guys. No one where 'safe' after all."

"I… yes, you may come with us, if that is your wish." Eirika smiled at them. "Thank you." She glanced at me. "I'm going to tell Seth, and see what I can get about the bracelet."

"Sounds good to me," I replied. I hesitated before sighing. "I think I'll loot the place. Most of the people they stole from are probably dead, and we'll need what supplies we can get."

"I hate that you're right." Eirika grimaced. "Well, be careful of traps?"

"That's his job." I pointed to Colm, who grinned. "We'll be fine. Don't leave without us."

"Never." Eirika held out her hand to Neimi, who took it shyly. "I'll introduce you to the others on my way to find Seth."

"You can do your own introductions later, Colm." I focused on him, and he nodded. "I'll be counting on you."

My life was really weird now, wasn't it?

* * *

 _Notes on Neimi:_

 _A 16 year old archer, who cries a lot_

 _Sensitive and emotional, her skill at crying is only matched by her skill at archery. If she got a bit more strength, she could probably take out enemies with one arrow._

 _As Colm mentioned, she is a fantastic cook. She and I have been permanently assigned to cooking duty for the group._

 _Notes on Colm:_

 _A 16 year old thief, who hides his feelings behind sarcasm and insults_

 _Snide, and arrogant, with uttermost confidence in his abilities. His skill and speed shows they're not entirely empty boasts._

 _That said, I have to wonder if he's apathetic to the world like I am, due to losing everything, and doesn't pay attention. He's burned Moulder's things already._

* * *

Author's note: This is the first indoor map of the game, iirc. There's no explanation for how you can just waltz up to the stronghold with no guards, so we're going with a hidden path known by Neimi and Colm. Neimi and Colm start with enough points to go with their C support in game as well, and if you choose to take them to A, their support bonuses tend to result in a _lot_ of criticals. There's technically one more scene, but it happens off screen, since Alicia goes looting instead.

Eirika's mom has no canon name, so I continued with the 'E' theme and went with 'Esther'.

Next Chapter - Ancient Horrors


	6. Chapter 4) Ancient Horrors

Chapter 4) Ancient Horrors

* * *

 _With bracelet recovered and two new additions to the group, we make our way closer to Grado with renewed determination. To make up for time lost, we cut through the ancient forest of Za'ha, aiming for a couple of villages nestled deep within. As we creep ever closer to Serafew, the lack of Grado troops makes half the group smile, and half the group frown. Considering that the frowning half consists of General Seth, Garcia, Moulder, and Gilliam… I frown as well, worried for what is to come._

 _The stories say Za'ha is a 'twin forest' to the Darkling Woods to the northwest, where the Five Heroes killed the Demon King once and for all. I wonder if that is why I have such a bad feeling._

* * *

I had always liked hiking through the forests near home. It had been a fun way to pass time with Monica, especially when we were planning a surprise picnic for Orson. But that forest had been open, with a nice breeze flowing through. Flowers and animals. Dappled sunlight. Gentle bubblings of a nearby stream.

 _This_ forest was dark and oppressive. It felt like someone had enveloped me in a too-warm blanket from head to toe, slowly smothering me from the heat and pressure. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like the forest was trying to kill us, for _daring_ to trespass. I didn't like it. I wanted to go home.

...But home didn't exist anymore, did it?

"I thought I was in good shape." Neimi's wobbling words jolted me from my thoughts, and automatically, I offered her my arm, before even looking at her. "Thanks," she whispered, taking it quickly. Her legs shook with each step. "I suppose there is a difference between 'hunting' and 'marching all day'."

"Yeah, there is," I replied, shifting a little closer. While my legs didn't quite shake, my feet did hurt. A lot. But it was a bit less, showing that I was getting used to everything. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not. "How are your shoes?"

"I might need new ones." She sighed and looked down at her boots. The pain in her eyes reminded me of how awkward I felt when all my stuff had been replaced. Even now, she was wearing some spare clothes Vanessa had. Most of her own stuff had burned. "These weren't really meant for hiking and the like. Not like this. I'd just slipped them on for a simple walk."

"I think we're going to try and replenish supplies and the like in Serafew."

"Yeah, Colm mentioned that." She frowned a little. "Well, Colm talked more of 'acquiring' some, but I told him to not steal unless they're mean. And making me cry wasn't considered 'mean'. I cry a lot."

"Yeah, who knows what Serafew is going to be like…" Serafew was _the_ bordertown. It wasn't the only one, of course, but it was the most prosperous, and the most well-known. Grado's capture of it had been the first sign of this invasion. "But still. We can see about what to get you. It's not like we're low on gold or anything." Between the gold King Hayden had given us, and the red gem General Selena had used as payment, we had quite a bit. "We'll have to prioritize food and weapons, though." According to Vanessa, both her slim lance and mine wouldn't last many more battles. I simply took her word.

"Of course. I'd be horrified if we didn't." She smiled sweetly, if tiredly. "This is all so strange. A month ago, I was just worried about living up to my grandfather, and making sure Colm actually ate well. Now, though…"

"Yeah, I know." I looked up and saw Colm actually approaching. "Hey, I thought you were scouting ahead."

"I traded off with Vanessa," he explained. He handed Neimi a canteen of water, and I smiled slightly. We'd run out of water a short while ago, so he had to have gone out of his way to fill it. "Don't guzzle it, klutz."

"Why not carry her?" I suggested, teasing. I grinned as both blushed. "Her feet are hurting."

"Figured." He sighed, and turned, crouching. "Get on. The last thing we need is you falling over and breaking something."

"I'll leave you two to it." I walked off, giggling slightly. When I glanced back, Colm was carrying Neimi on his back, swaying slightly since he was also tired, but not even pretending to complain. Likely, that was because Neimi was actually dozing with the canteen hooked around her arm.

So, smiling, I walked ahead and found Eirika in our little group. She was in the center, the most protected spot, and walked next to General Seth, who had dismounted to ease the burden on his horse. Franz had done the same, but he walked with Gilliam.

Eirika smiled as I fell in step with her, before turning back to General Seth. "So, we're close to our goal?" she asked. "I missed the last part of what you said."

"We're close to our intended destination," General Seth confirmed. "Once we cross the border, we'll reach Renvall, where rumors last placed Prince Ephraim." He smiled gently. "It's not much farther now."

"That is, of course, assuming that we cross the border without mishap."

"Now why did you say that, Eirika?" I groaned. I nudged her side and pouted when she looked at me. "You've given the gods ideas!"

"I feel flattered that they even listen to me," Eirika instantly retorted. Her slight smile made the words teasing, but the tiredness and pain in her eyes told me there was quite a bit of truth in them anyway. The recent battles wore heavy on her. "Maybe they'll listen to my prayer for a bath."

"I'd settle for a jump into a river at this point." I felt sweaty and grimy, and my armor just felt heavy. "General Seth, is it possible we could make camp soon? No offense, but you do have people here who are _not_ used to marching all day."

"I can work through it."

"I was talking about Neimi and me, actually, but _that's_ a good admission too." I grinned as she groaned. "So, General Seth, I know we broke for lunch, but maybe something for second lunch or that tea time you hear nobles say a lot or-?"

"Princess Eirika!" Vanessa swooped down then, actually snapping off some branches in her haste. "Up ahead." she began. Though her voice was loud, it and her expression remained even and calm. "We have dead."

That simple sentence changed everything. _Everyone_ got their fifth winds, and Franz and General Seth swung up onto their horses to ride ahead. The rest of us followed, Gilliam and Ross trailing pretty quickly, while Colm bolted ahead, Neimi not far behind him. We all ran as fast as we could, and stumbled to a stop when we suddenly broke out of the trees and saw an entire field of… of corpses. The grass was a strange rust-brown, and flattened. Tattered flags fluttered weakly in the wind from snapped poles. Broken armor glinted in the little light that trickled down from above. Weapons were scattered about, like discarded toys. The bodies had been left where they fell, with some pinned to the trees, and others just flat on the ground, hands just out of reach of weapons. Some bodies were intact. Others had limbs hacked off, or skulls demolished. A few unlucky ones had been cut in half, or trampled into a strange mess of dented metal and paste.

The flags bore the royal crest of Renais, twin white wings on a blue background. The corpses wore the trademark silver-blue armor given to all those who served in Renais's army.

"Grado must've just demolished them," someone whispered. I didn't know who. I was in so much shock that it could've even been me. "Gods, have mercy…" Though, maybe it wasn't me. I wasn't one to pray. Maybe it was Moulder, then. I didn't know. I couldn't process anything but the bodies.

Someone was crying, probably Neimi. Someone was puking, probably Ross. There were murmurs, but it sounded like mush in my ears. I simply… walked. I walked through the field and crouched down at each body. Though it was pointless, I found myself checking for a pulse or breath at them. But I found nothing, really. Some maggots. Some bugs. Some worms. Some marks where scavengers had picked at the remains. Bone. I saw a lot of bone. Bloating. Strange ruptures in slipping skin. The smell was also nauseating, my stomach turning so much that it didn't even have the strength to rebel.

I wondered how long they'd been dead. I wondered how old they'd been. It was hard to tell, through the bloating and blood and everything, but I thought some of them were my age. Maybe younger.

Something shifted in the corner of my eye, and I turned towards it, wondering if it was just some sort of fly buzzing off. I saw the shift again, and I crawled over, noticing the 'something' appeared to be another body, with no sign of an insect nearby. Thinking that odd, I took their wrist, checking for a pulse. There was nothing, of course. It looked like their skull was actually caved in, with one eye socket just collapsed. They were deader than dead at this point. There was no way that they could be moving.

But the hand I held suddenly twisted and latched onto me, blunt and broken fingernails digging into my wrist. I could only stare as the corpse slowly raised its head, each neck joint popping and creaking with the motion. Its dried, thinned lips twisted into a sickening smile as it dragged itself up, free hand curling slightly. Strange mist wrapped around the fingers, and suddenly, the fingers were replaced by claws sharp enough to cut the air. The claws drifted close to my face and I simply stared, frozen. Closer and closer it came, the tips tracing up my cheek. Blood trickled down, marking the trail to my eye…

"Emma?" Eirika's voice sounded so far away. "Emma, is everything okay?" But it did seem like it was coming closer. "You've been sitting there for a while!" I guessed she couldn't see the corpse well from where she was. "Come on! We're going to set up camp and bury the bodies!" The corpse, however, saw her, and it lifted its head slowly, joints creaking and cracking, and its sick smile grew. "Emma, what is-?"

My free hand fell down and snatched some sort of weapon. I didn't know what. It was heavy, and sharp. I knew it was sharp. I decapitated the thing with one swing, so it was _definitely_ sharp.

"They need to be killed again, Eirika," I replied slowly. I stood up, and turned to actually look at the weapon. It was a nice iron lance, and the weight wasn't too bad. "Not buried." I turned and I felt like I was thinking through molasses or something as I noticed others moving. I looked up at her wide eyed, pale face, and, for emphasis, stabbed the broken skull of another corpse. It actually spasmed, hinting it _had_ been moving. "These corpses aren't resting in peace."

"Clearly not," Eirika replied. Her voice was squeaky, and I couldn't blame her. Corpses weren't supposed to move. That was half the point of being _dead_! "This is…!" She screamed and jumped as a nearby corpse tried to grab her ankles. It snagged and ripped her cape. "Oh, dear gods…"

"Yeah, we need to get out of here."

"You're strangely calm!"

"I'm going to point out that I can't move my legs." I really couldn't. I was just thinking so slowly. I could only stare as a few more started picking themselves up. "They're… really moving?"

"Yes, and we need to run!" She snatched my hand and bolted, dragging me behind her. I tripped and stumbled a few times before I got my legs under me, and we both ran for the others, screaming as the dead picked themselves up and came after us, moaning deeply despite the fact that their lungs _really_ should've been among the first things to go.

WHEN DID WE DROP INTO A HORROR STORY!?

* * *

It was worse than a horror story. Clawed corpses. Floating eyeballs. Walking skeletons. I felt like I was in the middle of a story, and I really wanted out of it. I had no idea which of the three was worse to fight. The skeletons wore armor, but you had to hit them hard to dislodge the joints, and had a tendency to _keep following you after you knocked the apart unless you destroyed the skull for some stupid reason_. The floating eyeballs ripped through you with _magic that made you feel like your skin was being carved off_ and erupted in blood when you struck them down. The corpses were slow, but those claws _hurt_ , and they kept going until they were nothing but mush, and _when you cut them, you were hit with coagulating blood that felt so gross_.

The stories always said that the Demon King's greatest weapon was fear. I could understand why.

"Weren't there supposed to be villages nearby?" I asked, more because I was too tired to stop the words than any desire to actually know. Eirika and I fought back to back, as was quickly becoming our typical, dealing with the stupid monsters and their stupid sneak attacks. "Any ideas?"

"I don't know," Eirika replied. Her words were soft, spaced awkwardly because she was breathing heavily. She leaned against my back, and then straightened abruptly. "Sorry, I just…"

"Relax. I'm not so exhausted yet that I can't support you for a bit." I glared at the nearby monsters, though. At this point, most of the corpses and skeletons had gone south, leaving us to deal with stragglers and those stupid-strange eyeballs. One of which had sighted us and was _definitely_ staring hard, iris changing color and glowing. "Oh, hell, Eirika, du-"

A lightning bolt appeared from nowhere, though, and struck the floating eyeball down, actually rupturing the eye and sending blood splattering everywhere. As it fell, a young man wearing the robes of a monk stepped up, lightning tome still glowing from usage. "Travelers, you must hurry south," the man murmured. He gave us a grim look. "Ancient horrors flood Za'ha. My friend and I are in the process of helping the villages evacuate."

"Ancient horrors…?" Eirika repeated. She looked around, wide-eyed. "You mean the fiends from the stories? But they're just… just fairy tales!"

"I thought the same, but as you can see, they're very real." Another eyeball thing tried to float near, but the man whirled and sent out two quick lightning bolts to lance straight through. "Please, head-"

"No, let me help. You mentioned evacuations?" Her eyes hardened. "I'm Eirika, princess of Renais. Let me assist you."

"...I am grateful, your highness." The man bowed. "I am Artur. My friend, Lute, is towards the south, assisting the village there. If you can keep an eye out for her? Just follow the fireballs."

"I'll send Vanessa there at once." Eirika whirled, already heading off. "Emma, can you guard Artur?"

"I think I can try?" I replied, not sure what else to say. I gave him a hesitant look. "I'm… really not that good."

"Oh, that's fine," Artur replied with a little laugh. "I'm afraid I'm not that skilled either. But if you can keep them from getting close, I can blast them from afar. My light magic is effective against them, though not as much as a skilled bishop's spells might be."

"Yeah, that works." I flipped my lance once, mostly to get a feel for its balance again, and settled into a stance. "Well, time for me to start?" There were some skeletons walking towards us. Thankfully, they wielded swords, giving me a _slight_ advantage. "We can push towards the others?"

"Yes, I like that plan." He glanced up, and light flickered at his fingertips. "I'll take the mogall."

"The what?"

"The eyeball."

"Yeah, sure, make the eye scream or something." I sighed and shifted my stance, ignoring how shaky my legs were. "I'll scatter the bones." That… would probably sound more badass if I didn't sound exhausted, and a little squeaky.

Somehow, Artur and I managed to cut down the monsters, though I took a pretty bad wound to my side that made me limp heavily, to the point that if Artur hadn't helped me to Moulder, I just might have simply collapsed and bled out. I wished I'd gotten some sort of abdomen protector now, but I doubted I was strong enough to actually wear it, and a breastplate, _and_ carry a weapon. I'd be moving slower than Gilliam if I tried.

But even after getting healed, it was right back to fighting, because everything was fighting now. I got separated from Artur, and could only pray someone was guarding him. I fought alongside Neimi and Colm for a time, but Neimi had to duck back to fix her bowstring, and Colm went with her as a guard. I fought near Ross and Garcia at another point, but a particularly strong corpse appeared, and Garcia told the two of us to fall back. I had to drag Ross behind me because he refused to listen, and I threw him at Moulder, because his back had a gash. I guarded Moulder for a while, but Gilliam appeared to do the same, and I moved away so that he didn't have to focus on guarding _three_ people. I fought near Eirika a couple of times, though it was a bit by accident.

It was all a strange little haze. My mind shut off long ago, numb from everything. My body just moved automatically, going through various drills General Seth taught me. Some part of me distantly wondered if that was _why_ General Seth worked so hard on drills. My body remembered when my mind was too damned drain to even process anything but how to not die.

"Oh, my!" At some point, though, a sudden gasp broke through the patterns and made me look up. I blinked slowly as I realized there was actually a cliff nearby, and there were three people there, all dressed rather richly. I guessed a noblewoman and her retainers. "Those travelers are being besieged by fiends!" the noblewoman declared. Her voice was very… bombastic. "I cannot allow that. Come, we'll charge down the cliffs and-!"

"The only thing we'll charge to is our deaths if we head down _this_ cliff," one of the retainers noted dryly. His accent marked him as someone from Carcino, easily. I didn't recognize the girl's accent, but that gave me a good guess of where she was from anyway: Rausten. "How about we find another path down?"

"Ah… well… yes…" The girl noticeably deflated, and the silent retainer patted her on the back and laughed. "Thank you for the encouragement, Dozla. Yes, let us hurry! I cannot abide these wicked things roaming these fair lands!" The three quickly disappeared, and I stared, not quite certain what I'd just seen and heard.

"Emma?" Franz's concerned voice drew me out back into the battle, and he'd actually dismounted, peering worriedly at my face. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. "You were just…?"

"I think I had a fatigue induced hallucination," I replied. It had to have been. There was no way there was anyone that dramatic outside of a theater. "That's all. Sorry." I tried to smile, but it felt flat, so I let it fall. "Should you be dismounted?"

"I was worried." He managed to smile back, but I could see how he was turning grey from exhaustion, sweat and blood making a mess of his hair and face. I wondered how horrible I looked. "Besides, my horse needs a break from lugging me." He gently petted his horse's nose. "I'm not looking forward to cleaning her hooves tonight."

At first, I wondered why. Then I realized mud, blood, and pieces of flesh probably weren't good for a horse. "That… sounds bad." I also sounded stupid, but I thought I got bonus points for being able to form a sentence. "So…" Something snapped behind me. Automatically, I whirled, lunging as I aimed my lance for whatever it was.

If Franz hadn't snagged my arm, I would've skewered the young girl with purple hair tied in twin braids that had accidentally snuck up on us.

We stood there in silence. The girl seemed very nonchalant over the fact that I had a lance aimed at her heart. Franz looked more confused. I was _horrified_ , and as soon as my body unfroze from shock, I took a step back and brought my lance to my side. I… I could've killed her. A girl who wasn't doing much of anything to us. I could've killed her. I would've killed her, just because… just because...

"Your skin shows no sign of putrefaction," the girl noted absently. The tone knocked me from my spiraling thoughts. "It seems you're not a revenant."

"I would think that my wearing armor and carrying a weapon is a better indicator than how nice my skin looks, but whatever," I instantly retorted. I really couldn't help it, especially now. "You are?"

"Lute, a mage of superior wisdom and rare ability." She shrugged, and now I felt annoyance creep through. I wasn't sure if it was because of her tone, or how easily she shrugged off near-death. "I've been reading up on these creatures. They're simply no match for me, you see. I'm-"

"That's nice. Go prove it or something." I probably should be nicer, _since I almost killed her_ , but today wasn't a good day for my patience with all the weirdness going on. I couldn't deal with boastful people well when I wasn't covered head to toe in blood and other gore. "Have fun."

"With what?" Lute, however, simply continued to look curious, taking no offense to my tone. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I felt guiltier, though. "The enemies are all gone."

"Huh?" I looked around and, sure enough, they actually _were_. In fact, General Seth was heading over to us.

"I'm pleased to see you two are still standing," he said as his greeting. "We lost no one then." He looked to Franz. "Do a quick patrol to ensure there are no more, Franz." Franz saluted and was off in an instant, horse kicking up more mud with each step. "Now then…" He studied my face. "You're holding well."

"I didn't realize I was good at bluffing," I instantly retorted. I felt nauseous, and only the fear that another one of those corpses was near kept me from dropping my weapon or flinging it somewhere. Like it was _its_ fault that I'd reacted to a sudden noise with killing intent. "So, they're really all gone?"

"Well, we've killed the last that attacked us, but it'll be good to burn them, just in case." General Seth sighed, looked a little worried. Which, for him, meant _very_ worried. "Those revenants are said to be the least of the creatures of darkness, yes? I remember the stories..."

"Oh, yes, that's why they were always used up first," Lute added. Her eyes sparkled slightly. "There are much worse ones. We saw bonewalkers and mogalls, but there are mauthe doogs, gargoyles, medusa, baels…" She shrugged. "I imagine every creature of legend is walking the lands now. Even my superior talent might not be enough."

"I have no idea if she's being arrogant or humble," I muttered, trying to wipe off the blood from my face. It just stuck to my hands, though. "Oh, wait, are you the friend Artur mentioned?"

"We are friends, I suppose. I like to monk-watch." She shrugged again, and this time, I just decided she had no concept of social graces. Or just ignored them. "I should do that again. It's fun." She wandered off, muttering under her breath.

She passed Eirika on the way, who gave her a worried look. "Is she alright?" she asked. She moved to go after her, but ended up stumbling. "Ah…"

"I think she's just one of those super-genius people who thinks too quickly for mere mortals," I told her, catching her before she fell on her face. "Or something like that. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"If you're sure…" Eirika sighed, and managed to fix her footing after a moment. "This is…" She glanced around, looking too drained to even react. "I thought it was all stories… something of the past, and not anything we'd ever have to deal with…"

"Princess Eirika, let us return to Frelia," General Seth urged. He now looked more than slightly worried. He looked 'normal person' worried. So, he was probably freaking out. "With these things and Grado's forces… to continue would be…"

"Seth, I follow your point, but I simply cannot retreat now," Eirika replied. She smiled apologetically, and I remembered how General Seth had said she was the _stubborn_ twin. I was seeing that now, all too clearly. "Honestly, nothing would please me more than running to safety. I'm terrified. But what of my brother and his knights? They're in similar situations, without the benefit of escaping. I cannot simply…" She sighed. "I know I lead us into great danger, but I worry that if we retreat, I will never see any of the group again."

"Princess Eirika…"

"And it's not just Ephraim I worry about. Franz's brother is with my brother, for one, and poor Emma has lost _so_ much… I cannot bear turning back and costing her one more thing. Please…" She gave him a pleading look. "Please, try to understand?"

"...I do, Princess Eirika." General Seth looked almost fondly exasperated. "I vow to see you through this safely. All of us."

"Thank you, Seth. I know I am nothing but trouble."

"I expect trouble with you and Prince Ephraim, your highness." He bowed, and walked off, likely to make some firepits or something for the bodies. Eirika leaned into my side, and I leaned into her, both of us just… tired. My vision was graying even. We should go help with the bodies, but maybe it would be better to just go nap or something and-

"Aha! Foul creatures beware!" Someone rode up then and I stared as I recognized the trio from before rush into the field suddenly. "I bestow upon you the honor of banishment by my own hand!" the girl declared dramatically. Eirika and I both just… looked at her, and the girl took the not-so-subtle hint and actually looked around. "Oh, my, where are the monsters?"

"We… just finished…" Eirika began slowly. She glanced at me, and I threw my hands up in a 'I have _no_ clue' fashion. "Um…"

"Ah, glad tidings indeed!" The girl smiled warmly. "The heavens must be rejoicing!"

"Have fun, Eirika," I whispered, patting her on the shoulder. She gave me an incredulous look. "The girl seems nice, but I'm tired and not inclined to be polite. Do we really want to inflict me on her?" I smiled slightly as Eirika hesitated. "The answer is 'no'. Just say that. I know how I am." I waved and wandered off, going to help Vanessa and Neimi move the bodies to be burned. A couple actually stirred, forcing us to destroy the head to ensure it didn't.

My life was so, _so_ weird. I wanted my old one back.

* * *

After burning the bodies, we actually went to check on the villagers, who were finishing up evacuations. They offered to let us come along, but they were heading north, not south, so we declined. Artur and Lute, for unknown reasons, actually chose to accompany us. Something about 'temple' and 'monk watching'. I didn't get it.

Baths were dunks in the nearby river and some soap the villagers kindly gave us. Neimi and I were first, so that we could get to cooking. We'd tried cooking some meat the villagers also gave us, but when both of our stomachs rebelled at the smell, and others like Franz and Ross actually _did_ throw up, we just gave up on that and had some greens and fruit for dinner. After dinner, some of us did camp chores. Vanessa, Franz, and General Seth tended to their horses. I helped Eirika clean armor. At some point, watches were allotted, with Ross, Eirika, Neimi, and I 'somehow' not getting any. I didn't even bother pointing out how obvious the others were being. I just crawled into the tent I shared with Eirika and passed out.

My nightmares, though, were filled with those corpses and those monsters. In my dream, I was surrounded, fighting them off. It was hard to tell if I was doing any good or not, since they just kept coming at me, no matter how many I killed. I just kept fighting and killing, fighting and killing. Then, something snapped behind me and I whirled, lunging for whatever it was. My lance buried deep in its chest, and it fell, purple braids trailed up, and I realized it wasn't a corpse I'd killed. It was Lute. But she rose up before long, roaring as her face split apart and dark flames wrapped around sudden claws as she tore into me…

That's when I woke up, soaked in a cold sweat, a scream lodged in my throat. I was frozen, finding it difficult to even breath, but as soon as I could, I pushed myself up, and found I was trembling. Tears filled my eyes, but ground my teeth and stubbornly refused to cry. I glanced over at Eirika, sleeping peacefully. Her blankets were thrown to the side, so I reached over with still shaking hands and tucked them around her again. Then, worried I'd wake her, I headed outside to the banked campfire.

Gilliam was on watch, but he didn't even glance my way as I sat down and poked at the dying fire, just to have something to do. Everything felt horribly heavy, and I looked at my wrist, remembering the blunt, broken fingernails digging into my skin.

I thought of the old stories, helped by what Lute rattled off. Revenants were walking corpses, with magic twisting their hands into claws, and served as the vanguard for the Demon King's forces. The stories mentioned they were never particularly _effective_ fighters, but they made excellent 'living' shields to protect the more valuable members of the army, and they were famous for how they could obliterate morale. The stories said that the Demon King had turned some of the Five Heroes' loved ones into revenants as a last ditch effort to save himself.

I wondered why they'd be here. The Demon King was dead or sealed or whatever. You did have crazy people worshiping him still, though, for some stupid reason. One of Mom's last jobs, the one where she'd apparently met Father actually, had dealt with a Demon Cult. Had they'd done something? You heard that there were monsters in the Darkling Woods still, but those were just whispers in the dark, meant to scare people on Spirit's Eve, and the Darkling Woods were far to the northeast from here. These things had to have erupted from _here_ , as otherwise, you would've heard about it…

Was this something Grado had done? Grado was known for dark magic, and everyone knew that dark magic was… well… dark. Reanimation of corpses classified as 'dark', in my eyes. I wasn't quite certain about why there would be other monsters, but maybe… after all, that would explain why they showed up suddenly. But how would Grado _control_ them? How would they keep them from turning on them? Or… would Emperor Vigarde _care_? He turned his back on one of his oldest friends, and left Renais in a state of chaos after invading. Would he care if these things killed his own?

I sighed, wondering why I was paying so much attention. Other, smarter minds were probably thinking of the whys now, so there was no point in my running my mind into a rut over it. But the idea of 'reanimating the dead' lingered like a poison in my brain. Orson had told me about a group he'd had to deal with who dealt with something called 'necromancy', supposedly a dark magic that allowed communication with the dead to divine the future, and even the act of bringing _back_ the dead. He'd scoffed over how nonsensical it was, and he and I actually had a good laugh over the idea, but what about now? I just _fought_ reanimated corpses. Was it really a joke? Could it really be done?

I thought of Monica. I thought of Mary, Jacob, and my friends. I thought of Mom. I thought of even Dad. If they could be brought back, I…

I growled and barely resisted the urge to punch _myself_ for considering the thought. Monica had been in _pain_ during the last bits of her life. Everyone else had been dead for literally years. Dad was probably a skeleton in the ground by now, in fact. Bringing them back would only lead to more pain. Besides, the dead we fought today hadn't been alive. It had just been some… some facsimile. It had been a mockery of life. I couldn't bear to subject my loved ones to that, just so that I could delude myself into thinking they were back and I wasn't alone.

The dead were dead. The dead were gone. That was simply how life was. You lived and you died. You lived and you left people behind. I had simply been the one left behind by everyone.

I looked up at the sky, barely able to see the stars thanks to the clouds and the trees, still horribly thick and oppressive. Mom's stories said the stars were the dead, looking down on all of us, which Monica would whisper whenever the anniversary of Mom's death, and Father's, came around. Helena would tell me how stars were the good wishes of the dead, to remind us to keep hope, whenever I visited Mary's grave. Different countries had different stories, or maybe it was different regions had different stories. I wondered what it meant, though, to not be able to see them. Were they still there? Did they still wish for us to have hope? Or was not being able to see them a sign that they had turned away, and left us to fend for ourselves? It wouldn't surprise me. The living left me behind, so why wouldn't the dead too?

I continued to stare at the sky, though, into I found myself dozing, at which point I stumbled back into my tent and curled up to sleep. I kept having nightmares, though, and woke up frequently, curling into a ball to try and not wake Eirika.

I wanted Monica. I wanted Orson. I wanted Mom. I wanted… anyone...

* * *

 _Notes on Artur:_

 _An 18 year old monk, wielding light magic._

 _A bit fragile, but his magic is strong, and he is both fast and skilled in casting._

 _Calm, kind, and uncompromisingly pious. He's one of those 'nice church people' that would spend an afternoon helping a child find a toy or something._

 _Notes on Lute:_

 _A 16 year old mage._

 _Like Artur, her magic is strong, giving some credit to her claims of being a 'prodigy', and she is certainly skilled._

 _Arrogant, studious, and eccentric. She does have her adorable side, given how her eyes sparkled when looking at Vanessa's pegasus, but her habit of just watching everything unnerves many._

* * *

Author's notes: And here you get your tutorials on magic and monsters. I think this is also where you learn about 'snags' in game, but I could be wrong. Fun fact: Lute actually starts with a C rank in tomes, as opposed to the typical 'E' for most level 1 characters. I actually like her and L'arachel (not sure if her name was ever used in the chapter), but Emma doesn't quite have the energy to deal with either.

Next Chapter - The Empire's Reach


	7. Chapter 5) The Empire's Reach

Chapter 5) The Empire's Reach

* * *

 _So, we have literal monsters of legend wandering the woods. The sentence is so bizarre, and yet, it's the absolute truth. Monsters. It's like all the old stories have become real._

 _Despite this newer danger, Eirika intends to push forward. She gives everyone a chance to back down and return to Frelia, but none do. So, instead, we finally make our way to Serafew. The town used to be a sign of the enduring friendship between Grado and Renais, but now, it's teeming with Grado soldiers._

 _This is going to be bad._

* * *

Serafew was a rather beautiful town, made of soft brown and white buildings, flags of both Renais and Grado flapping in the strong winds. I imagine that once, both were equal, proudly declaring that the two countries shared this town. Now, though, the Renais flag was half-hanging off the pole, it's edges noticeably tattered, while the Grado flag loomed over it, its colors crisp as if it were freshly made.

I wasn't quite sure what Eirika had wanted to see badly enough to hike up the hill close to camp, but I was pretty certain this wasn't it.

"It's been so long since I was last in Serafew, a year and a half, I think…" Eirika murmured. She looked over the town with fond, yet sad eyes. "My brother and I would always pass through here on the way to Grado. Lyon would meet us here, most times, just as we'd meet him here when he visited Renais. We always made sure to see each other off here, though." She laughed, and it sounded frail. "We'd always sneak away from our guards to walk through the market. It was a game, almost. No one would harm us in peaceful Serafew, so, why not? It wasn't as if there was some divide between Renais and Grado. No guards to guard the border. It was a symbol of trust between our countries, so of course the three of us would be safe."

"Yet now it's filled with Grado soldiers," I said, bluntly. I winced, though, as I thought it might've been _too_ blunt. It wasn't as if she couldn't see the soldiers herself. Their red and black armor looked strangely menacing from here, like little bits of blood were actually running down the outer walls of the city. "I…"

"Yes, it is. The peace I knew feels so far away, and a lifetime ago." She turned to face me, giving me a bitter smile. "Sorry. I knew we were at war, but I supposed it didn't quite hit me until now that we're at war with _Grado_."

"It's fine." I shrugged. "I'm still reconciling that I'm _fighting_ in a war." I took her arm and tugged it. "Come on. I told Neimi we wouldn't be long."

"Right…" She glanced back longingly at Serafew, before heading back down the hill, towards camp.

I looked at Serafew for a moment longer, disappointed that this was my first look at the city Mom and Orson had talked so much about. A ripping sound made me jump, and I jerked my head up to see the Renaisi flag was no longer on the pole, but up in the air, being battered by the winds this way and that. The sight made me sick to my stomach, and I raced down the hill to catch up with Eirika, wanting to forget what I'd seen.

When we arrived back at camp, it was clear someone was about to come get us, and equally clear why. Colm was back from scouting in the city itself, which meant it was time for a report.

"There's not _too_ many soldiers," Colm explained. He looked a little smug, but considering he snuck into the city without being caught, I guessed it could be forgiven. Mostly because he always looked smug, like how Lute was always boasting. "Guessing that since Renais fell, they don't see a point in maintaining a huge presence. The west gate in particular is undermanned."

"So, we can get in that way?" General Seth asked. He frowned a little, clearly thinking. "That will…"

"Minor complication, though. They're purposely seeking out Renaisi people, and it seems the soldiers aren't exactly inviting them to tea parties if you catch my drift." He became grimmer. "Now, that's the good news."

"...Good?"

"It's better than the next bit. There _was_ a Grado general here, Glen the Sunstone or whatever, and he's given orders to be on the look out for Princess Eirika, as they believe she's making her way here."

"Why?"

"Simple. Our idiot prince." Colm paused and bowed briefly to Eirika. "Pardon my rudeness there."

"It's fine," Eirika reassured. She made sure to smile at him. "Emma has already informed me of what many think of Ephraim, and myself."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Colm replied. He gave me a sympathetic smile, and I rolled my eyes. "Regardless, our prince is in Grado. They know you'll come after him. Basically, he's being used as a bait for a trap, and likely doesn't even know it because he keeps being a needle in their side." He shrugged. "They've apparently lost quite a few forces to him."

"He's always been talented at fighting and tactics, though I wish he'd studied more diplomacy." Eirika sighed. "Regardless, they know we're near, _and_ they're hunting Renaisi."

"Yep. So, complications." His eyes narrowed, and he glanced around at everyone. "What do we want to do?"

"It's not a question, but need," Moulder whispered. He glanced pointedly at our supply pile, and all of us knew what it meant. King Hayden had given what he could, but it had been given with the expectation that we would only have a handful of people. We'd almost _doubled_ our numbers thanks to the casual recruitments, and it showed in how little we had left. "We simply do not have enough."

"Well, then, you need to come up with a plan," Colm retorted instantly. He glowered a bit, and I knew it was defensiveness. He knew damn well that the lack of supplies was partially his fault, just as it was partially Neimi's, Lute's, Artur's, Ross's, and Garcia's. "Because otherwise, we're dead."

Silence fell as everyone tried to _think_ of a plan. But the gravity of just how dangerous this really was weighed too heavily on us. But as I looked at everyone, I realized something that might…

"Well, I can head in," I offered softly. All eyes turned to me, and I squirmed, a bit uncomfortable at their disbelieving looks. "I mean… I took after my mom in looks, so I look more Jehannan than Renaisi. That might be helpful right now." Of course, thanks to Renais being the center of the continent, Renaisi people didn't really have a 'type'. Often, you figured out someone was Renaisi by noticing they _didn't_ have features typical of other nations. That worked against them in Serafew, since they _wouldn't_ look like they were from Grado. "If I buy small purchases, and change my clothes or how I wear my hair, people might not notice until we're gone?" I definitely knew I needed to do small purchases. _Big_ ones had led to me getting caught up in this mess. I still didn't know how Valter had found out. Merchant gossip, perhaps?

"Alone?" Colm asked. He shook his head. "Listen-"

"Eirika looks like a noble, and General Seth is instantly recognizable by everyone. Frelians wouldn't be this far south, so they'd stand out like a sore thumb. Everyone _else_ more or less looks Renaisi, so while you could do one or two purchases, you couldn't do more than that." I shrugged. "I can get us more things. I think."

"And you'd be alone. In enemy territory."

"Shockingly, I think I figured that out already, but does anyone else have a better, or even different, plan for getting us items?" I waited. I hoped someone would. But while I could tell they all thought hard, I could _see_ their expressions blank. I had to do this. "Then someone get me a list, and if I can borrow the most nondescript clothing we've got, I'd appreciate it."

* * *

Each time I went to the market, I changed clothes, or changed my hair, or both. I changed my voice slightly each time, and changed how I walked. I felt like a little kid playing make-believe, but the act had very, _very_ real stakes this time. If I failed, if I was suspicious, I'd likely be taken into questioning. Or worse. But, it worked. I got us food, weapons, spare items that might be useful… I even had time to buy new shoes for Neimi and Eirika, the absolute lowest priority on our list.

"Thank you so much!" I gushed, smiling brightly. I pretended it was two years ago, and I was thanking Victor for his help in getting a present for Mary. "My sisters will be thrilled!"

"You're quite welcome, lass," the shopkeeper replied. He gave me a broad smile, one that made the wrinkles in his face deepen. "I'm just sorry I can't make you custom ones."

"Believe me, these are more than enough." I gave him the last of the gold I had, a bit extra than the actual cost. He took it with a smile, not calling attention to it. "Thanks again!" I skipped off, the bag with my purchase swinging with the motion. I had to keep up these fake cheerful act until I left the city, and then, we could leave. General Seth had wanted to leave before, but I'd argued for the new shoes, pointing to where Neimi's had a _hole_ in it. Eirika's weren't in much better shape. I hadn't been caught _yet_ , and so, I wanted to try one more time.

Well, actually, I'd wanted to be sick and cry and curl up in a little ball and never do anything again, much less this. My nerves were frayed from keeping up with all the little disguises, and keeping an eye on everything without seeming too, and I swore I'd be sick from stress. But Neimi had _needed_ the shoes, and Eirika would need them before long. I wanted to help them.

"Excuse me, miss?" The strange voice made me look up, and it took everything I had to keep from screaming as I realized _two_ soldiers were standing in front of me. "Is everything alright?" one asked. Both were male, from what I could tell, so I focused on the hair color, a shock of blonde hair. "You looked rather disconcerted."

"I was just making sure I wasn't forgetting anything," I replied automatically. It wasn't really a lie, and the words came easily. My heart thudded in my ears, and I felt like I could faint at any moment. "Thank you for your concern, though."

"It's no trouble, miss," the other one replied. They had brown hair. Both had brown eyes, I noticed. "Still, things are a little tense at the moment. There's a traitor running about."

"Is there? Goodness, that's troubling." My mouth was dry, but I managed to keep my voice even. I tightened my grip on my bag to make sure my hands didn't shake and betray my fear. "I'll be certain to head straight back home."

"Would you like an escort?" They both smiled warmly, and panic flooded me. That, above all else, I couldn't allow. "As we said, things are dangerous…"

"Oh, I wouldn't wish to trouble you!" I smiled at them both. "I'll be just fine. I'm quite quick on my feet!" Though, honestly, considering how nervous I was, I wasn't sure I'd even been able to _walk_ straight.

"But we would feel terrible if something happened," the blonde one said. He smiled back, and I wasn't sure how much I liked how warm it was. They both seemed like nice boys, and I didn't like that. I didn't like thinking about how there were _nice_ people in Grado right now. "So, please, if you would-"

"Darling, there you are!" A gentle chiming sound echoed in my ears as warm arms enveloped me in a hug. "I've been looking everywhere for you," a soft voice laughed, Jehannan accent noticeable. "Did you get lost?" I turned slightly, and caught sight of large hoop earrings and little tendrils of red hair. "Come on! I'm done with my 'patron'. I'm sorry you had to wait." I was tugged into someone's side, and from here, I could see she wore very little clothing, far less than most women would wear. That alone told me who she was: either a dancer or a prostitute. The scarf she wore around her arms, and the beads and bells in her outfit hinted towards the former. "Let's go!" She led me off easily, chatting about nothing. I did my best to look like I was listening attentively, making affirmative noises every once in a while, and she smiled approvingly before leading me into a house. The impersonal decorations in it made me think this was a house just rented out to people. I'd heard there were buildings like that in Serafew, since the inns could be easily overrun with travelers.

"Um… thank you for helping me," I whispered after a moment of looking around the room. The woman had simply watched me, sitting down at a table. "That was… odd."

"I take it that you're not from a city if you think that was odd," the woman replied. She smiled gently, and my heart _ached_ when I realized how similar it was to Monica's. "You're a _very_ beautiful girl. You need to be careful."

"...I'm pretty?" I wasn't sure why _that_ caught me by surprise. I'd just… never thought about it, though. Yes, Jacob had called me 'pretty' while we were dating, but no one else had really commented on it. Well, Victor had that crush, but he'd never called me pretty. "Um… thank you?"

"You're very beautiful. I'm almost jealous." She laughed a little, and laughed more when I gave her an incredulous look. Now that I had a good look at her, I could honestly say that this woman was _easily_ the most beautiful person I had ever seen. "My name is Tethys. I'm part of the Desert Tiger's mercenary group."

"I know them." Gerik the Desert Tiger was one of the most famous of mercenaries. I was certain even Eirika would know him. "I'm surprised you're all the way out here."

"A dancer is very good for gathering information, particularly since men don't worry too much about what they say during pillow talk." She paused, gauging my reaction, and smiled again when I didn't react. "Your name?"

"Oh, right!" I squeaked a little, embarrassed. I tightened my grip on my bag, and peeked inside to reassure myself that the shoes were still there. "It's Emma."

"Emma, how pretty." Her eyes sharpened slightly. "So, why exactly is a pretty girl like you buying so many thing?"

"I don't know what you mean." The words were automatic, and I tried to keep relaxed. Unbidden, the memory of Valter appeared, and I tried not to shake. "I was just purchasing some shoes." I held up the bag for emphasis. "See?"

"In these clothes, and with that light accent. But this isn't your first foray in." She smiled slightly. "It's really rather clever. I wasn't sure at first, even keeping a close eye. You should've put more time between purchases. If you'd done that, I definitely wouldn't have figured it out."

"..." I tried to think of what to do, but then I remembered how she'd made a point of saying she was with the Desert Tiger's group. They were an honorable sort. They followed the Guild's code as much as any other mercenary, but they made a point of only accepting jobs from people they respected. Grado's recent actions would've turned them away. I was certain of it. "I am afraid that time is of the essence. I'm the only one in my group even able to sneak in."

"Because you look more Jehannan." Her smile softened, and her eyes told me she appreciated the show of trust. "So, I was right. You're… half, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, my mother was a mercenary." I hesitated, but decided to just… go for broke. "Tabitha."

"The Daughter of Thunder, the sniper who never missed?" Her eyes sparkled slightly, and her demeanor softened even further. "I'd heard she had two daughters."

"Sadly, just me. My sister died."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Her tone and expression told me she really meant the words. "So, are you taking up the mercenary job? If you're a freelancer, I can get you with Gerik in a flash."

"Not… quite. It's complicated." I thought of the past few weeks and whimpered. "It's _really_ complicated. I'm not even sure _how_ to explain."

"I see." She stood up then and cupped my cheek, smiling softly. "I've a few gifts from patrons that I can't possibly carry. Perhaps you can take them along?"

"That… would be nice." I was startled, actually, by the offer. "I appreciate it."

"Girls need to look out for each other, and you, darling, look like you've been through quite a bit of hell." She smiled gently, and I was once again reminded so much of Monica that I actually almost burst into tears. I was saved by a knock on the door. "Saleh, how many times must I tell you that you can simply walk in here?"

"I'm checking that you don't have guests." The door opened to reveal a man wearing garb that was better suited for mountains. "Oh, you do," he continued, face completely stoic. I couldn't place his accent at all, and it didn't sound like that strange Rausten girl, so I had _no_ idea where he was from. "I didn't think girls were among them, though."

"Girls are lovely~" Tethys chuckled, before shaking her head. "But she's not. She's just someone I met along the way. But speaking of girls, did you have any luck finding the one you were looking for?"

"Sadly, no." He sighed, shaking his head. "I can no longer sense her either, so she's definitely nowhere near. It might be best for us both to return."

"In a moment." Tethys rested her hands on my shoulders. "Do you have any supplies you don't need?"

"A few things, mostly tomes." His calm eyes fell on me, and I felt like I was suddenly an open book he decided to flip through. "Who is this, then?"

"A girl in need of help." Tethys moved to hug me. It was a warm and gentle hug. "So?"

"Yes, I can spare a few things." He continued studying me. "This will be pointless, but have you seen a girl with indigo hair?"

"Indigo? No," I replied slowly. Indigo seemed… odd. I'd seen many hair colors, but never _indigo_. "I'll keep an eye out, though. It's Saleh, right?"

"Yes, it is." He smiled slightly, just slightly. "Her name is Myrrh. She's… unused to traveling."

"I'll definitely keep an eye out." My voice became a little firmer, and his smile grew just a sliver more. "Especially as thanks for your help."

"Then I suppose I should get to that." He bowed slightly. "It won't take long."

"And, in the meantime, how about I make you some tea?" Tethys suggested. She giggled, smiling. "I have this delightful mint and ginger one…"

She urged me to sit down and not only have tea, but some pieces of apple cake, a dish I hadn't had since Mom died. It was… very strange, and probably as dangerous as all hell considering everything, but it was _so_ familiar and _so_ comforting that I couldn't… not.

It was familiar enough to make me happy. I wanted that.

* * *

Tethys and Saleh saw me off to the edge of town. They'd offered to come with me if I needed to purchase more things, but I reassured them that the shoes had been left until last, as the least priority. Tethys had given me a kiss on the temple, a common way for Jehannan mercenaries to say goodbye. It was supposed to give good luck. I'd given her a hug, knowing that was a traditional way to react to it. I'd simply smiled at Saleh, and he'd bowed, smiling slightly in return.

But about two seconds after they left, I ran into a cleric. And then got chased by Grado soldiers because _apparently_ the cleric was the traitor those soldiers mentioned.

"So, what exactly is going on?" I asked her after a long series of running like mad and hiding like mice. Thankfully, the people here were more than willing to help shelter us. At the moment, we were ducked behind a lady's fruit stand, while she went inside for safety. "I'm Emma, by the way."

"Natasha," she replied. Her breathing was shaky, and her face was red from exertion. She really wasn't used to running. Her shoes had actually fallen apart earlier, but someone had given her their old ones. Her feet were still covered in painful blisters, though, from what I'd seen. "I… I have information that I must get to the other nations. It's…"

"Oh, so, war information? No wonder they call you traitor."

"The emperor has gone mad."

"If that's the information, I can guarantee you that it's been figured out." I cautiously peered around the corner of the stand to see if I saw anyone near. "Unless you know why?"

"No, but I know why he invaded." She gave me a serious look. "He-"

"Hold the thought. We need to get out of this alive, and then you can tell Eirika." I frowned as I noticed something. "Colm?"

" _There_ you are!" Colm actually jumped over some broken stalls and slid behind the stall with us. "Freaking… holy… hell," he growled. He held out a lance for me, and I took it with a thankful smile. Then I felt a little ill over being _thankful_ for a weapon. "This is why I protested!"

"Hey, I actually didn't get caught," I protested, feeling defensive. "They're after me for completely different reasons!" I thrust the bag of shoes at him. "Give these to Neimi and Eirika."

"Holy shit, you did manage to get the shoes." He took the bag and peeked inside, as if confirming I did, in fact, have two pairs of shoes. "Well, uh… need help?"

"Yes, but what I _really_ need is you to tell Eirika that I'm fine, that I'm protecting a cleric who has some important information for her, and that we're just going to just try and get out of the city." No, I didn't. I was terrified. I didn't want to be alone, and I worried for Natasha. But I… I knew that message needed to get to Eirika. The girl refused to leave me behind when she barely knew me. I knew she'd refuse now, unless I specifically said we were meeting up later. And she _really_ couldn't get caught here. "Okay?"

"Message received." He pointed towards the south. "Not sure if you know directions thanks to all the chaos, but that way is the border. Head for there."

"Thanks, Colm." I managed a smile, and stiffened when I heard some nearby shouts. "Run."

"You better meet up with the rest of us by nightfall. I'm not dealing with Neimi's tears."

"Yes, yes, you're the only one allowed to make her cry. Now get going!"

"There's a path to the east you might be able to make it through if it's just you two." Colm looked down the road and grimaced. "Damn, they're…"

"Just go." I whirled up, lance at the ready. "I've got this." I didn't really, but I didn't have much of a choice. The only other one was letting Natasha die.

"South. Remember." He took off, and I shifted my feet, getting into a better stance just like General Seth had taught me. Then, when the soldiers were close enough, I fell on them, using an ambush to get an advantage to the fight. After all, these people were just expecting a cleric, who weren't known for their fighting abilities, and so their guard was down. That let me get a few good hits in before they could retaliate.

I still took a glancing blow to the face, and some slightly worse ones to my side and legs, but nothing that would immediately stop me. I knelt down and moved their bodies to the side, out of sight, and I noticed something I wasn't sure I liked. There were two, both males. One had blonde hair, and the other had brown.

"If only I hadn't dropped my staff…" Natasha's gentle voice kept me anchored instead of letting my thoughts spiral. "Here, let me at least bandage them," she murmured, crouching by me. She used the soldier's fallen weapons to cut her own dress and she wrapped them around the worst of my injuries. "That will hold you, I think."

"It'll have to," I replied. I reached down to pull her up. "Can you run? We need to run."

"I will do what I must." That wasn't really an answer, and both of us knew it. But both of us also knew it was the only one she had. "Sacred Light, watch over us please…"

We both ran, towards the east. I had to glance at the sun to figure out which way that was, but it was pretty easy to find the path from there. We raced down, wincing as the sounds of battle began echoing through. The others were fighting. I hoped they were alright, but I knew there was little chance of me getting to them at this point. I just had to stick to my own plan, and hope the others were...

"I figured I'd find someone here." Someone suddenly jumped down from the nearby roof, red hair and black jacket fluttering behind him as he landed. I instantly brought my lance up, and tried not to freeze as he turned red eyes towards me. Jehannan for certain, and the easy way he held himself, sword almost dangling from his fingertips, just _screamed_ that this man was a skilled mercenary. The clothes told me the same, since the black jacket was of fine quality, matching his hat perfectly, and the jewelry he wore (bracelets, ring, earrings) were subtly expensive. His sword was also of very good quality, with a keen edge that suggested he also had the money to _keep_ it in such good shape.

Mercenaries wore their wealth in a subtle showing of their skill, since only the most skilled mercenaries would even be able to afford such things. Only the most _successful_ mercenaries would hold themselves so carelessly in a battle situation. We were in trouble.

"Like what you see?" he asked, grinning roguishly. He even winked. "Well, maybe not, based on the glare." He bowed a little, somewhere between genuine and mocking. I was surprised by how graceful it was. "But it is a pleasure to see you again, miss cleric."

"You're… you're that man who helped me earlier," Natasha murmured. She cautiously stepped around me, but didn't get closer. "You… you're here to silence me, aren't you? Grado's hired you for that."

"Well, they said they needed help capturing and silencing a traitor, but that traitor seems to be you, so yes." He shrugged, still nonchalant. "They _really_ want you dead, little miss. Orders of the emperor himself, from my understanding. Nothing personal."

"P-please, wait a moment!" Natasha took another step forward, and I snagged her sleeve to keep her from going much farther. I wasn't sure what I _could_ do to guard her, but I at least knew she needed to be near for me to have a chance. "I… I don't care what happens to me, but you _must_ hear my words. Emperor Vigarde seeks to destroy all the countries in order to-"

"No offense, miss, but I'm a mercenary. I can't afford to listen." So he said, but there was something different in his eyes. A sharp, calculating light that showed he'd listened _very_ closely. "Then again, I only hired on as a favor to Caellach, and my contract is due to end soon anyway…" He tilted his head, as if in thought. But he still watched us closely. I felt like a mouse in front of a hungry hawk. "And killing a pretty girl would leave such a poor taste in my mouth, especially one who isn't actually fighting…" He reached into his pocket, and I tensed, wondering if he was going to throw something. "Tell me; do you like to gamble?"

"...What?!" Natasha's yelp was the only thing that told me I hadn't imagined that last sentence. "I… that's…"

"No? Gambling's quite fun, or I think so. Even when I lose, I don't like stopping." He smiled slowly. "So, want to have a wager? You win, and I believe and help you. Sound fair?"

"I… you can't be serious." Natasha sounded, and looked, like she couldn't decide to laugh or cry. "This is not time for games!"

"Would you rather I get on with the job I'm hired for?" He waited for an answer, and his smile grew when she hesitated. "So, nice and simple. Heads or tails? Your call."

"Umm… heads?" She shook her head suddenly. "No, tails!"

"Tails? Alright." He shrugged and pulled a coin from his pocket. Fear flooded me as I realized he hadn't shown the coin prior, and there were _many_ who cheated at gambling. "Here we go." Before I could demand to check the coin, he flipped it up. Sunlight caught it as it spun in the air, and everything just slowed as it came down in his hand. He closed it quickly, to flatten it and make it pick a side, and then opened it up to look. "Huh."

"Um…" Natasha's voice sounded so small, and she curled into herself a little. I felt like I was going to be sick. "Which… which is it?"

"Tails." He tilted his hand down so that we could see it too. I couldn't decide if I felt relieved or that I'd been punched in the back. "Figures. I haven't won anything all day." He shrugged, smiling a little. "Well, Lady Luck has spoken. I'm on your side now."

"A-are you serious?" Natasha's eyes were wide, and she just… stared. I couldn't blame her. This was weird as all hell. "You're…"

"Yeah?" He shrugged again. "I might cheat, but I never try to worm out of a bet. It's a rule of mine."

"Oh, thank heaven!" Natasha actually clasped her hands in prayer, closing her eyes. "Thank you, blessed light, for your protection!"

"You know… I've nothing against heaven, but I'm right here if you want someone to thank." He sighed as Natasha ignored him to continue praying. "No? Well, stay behind me, both of you." He threw the coin up again, and flipped his sword for a proper grip. "I've got some fools who don't know the meaning of stealth to take care of."

He whirled quickly, a blur of red and blacks, and suddenly, there was a lot more red splattering against the walls and trickling down the path. It took a couple of blinks to realize he'd cut down two Grado soldiers. They weren't quite dead, yet, but their wounds were bad enough that a baby could've killed them.

"Do you know a path out of the city?" I asked, voice breathy and squeaky. This man could've killed us. The man _should've_ killed us, but didn't for the most inane of reasons. We should be dead, and we only weren't because this man was _weird_. "We're meeting our group outside."

"Yeah, there's a path," Joshua answered. He pointed to Natasha, though, who looked a little shaky suddenly. "I think it all just caught up. Take a breath." He held up a hand as Natasha opened her mouth to protest. "Much as I would _love_ carrying you, little miss-"

"Natasha," she interrupted. She leaned against the wall. "My name is Natasha. I forgot to tell you."

"That's a pretty name." He smiled, and it was much warmer than before. Strangely warm, considering he had blood splattered across his chest, and was standing between the two dying soldiers. "Regardless, I can't fight and carry you, and I'm not sure pretty girl here…" He nodded to me. "Can do so either. So, just take a quick breath. We're still fine."

"...Alright…" She sighed and slid down the wall, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

The man crouched down and poked the bodies, likely checking the wounds were as fatal as they looked. I twitched at every noise, and tried not to wince as one of them whimpered. I looked around the area, hoping for some sort of distraction, and found something fairly quickly. The man's coin was on the ground, sitting in a little bit of blood. I picked it up and wiped the blood off, and that was when I realized something.

It was double-tailed. There wasn't a 'head' side at all to the coin.

"Aw, you discovered my little trick." A hand plucked the coin from me, and I looked up to see the man pocket it. "No, not a word," he said, smiling slightly. "Don't spoil my fun."

"...You never intended to kill us, did you?" It hadn't been inane. It hadn't been some trick of luck. That… that made me feel _so_ much better about this whole thing. And confused. So very confused.

"Well, I don't like killing pretty girls." He grinned and slipped a hand into his pocket. "So, heads or tails?"

"Not likely, mister. You cheat."

"Oh, don't call me 'mister'. Makes me feel old." He smiled, and actually reached up to ruffle my hair affectionately. I thought of Mom, and how open she'd been with affection. It was a common thing among Jehannans, just like terms of endearment for _everyone_. "My name is Joshua."

"Like the wayward prince of Jehanna?" I'd only heard little pieces of that. Supposedly, the Crown Prince of Jehanna just left the castle one day ten years ago, declaring that he intended to learn about the people. While there was some grumbling, most Jehannans I'd spoken to actually still liked him, though whether that was because they had to cling to hope or because they admired the audacity, I had no idea.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Man, if I had a gold for every time I had..." He sighed mournfully, and I giggled, unable to help it. "So, pretty girl, your name?"

"It's Emma." It was strange. He reminded me weirdly of both Mom and Monica, but also a little bit of Orson. Deadly, but kind. Fierce, but gentle. The supposed contrasts just… made me feel strangely safe. "You're weird."

"Fine words to say to someone you just met!" He grinned. "Come on." He nodded to Natasha, and I turned to see her standing up again. "I think our lovely cleric has caught her breath enough for another run."

"Right!"

* * *

We escaped the city, and met up with the others on the Grado side of the border, outside the city. Apparently, Lute had decided to test out her thunder tome that I got from Saleh on the heavily armored members of the Grado soldiers, basically resulting in a lot of electrocuted soldiers. Thus, we didn't have to deal with pursuers as most of them were a little too dead to do much of anything, and could actually _relax_ when we set up camp and tended to our injuries. Natasha insisted on helping Moulder, and thanks to the Mend staff Colm swiped, she did. Neimi and I made dinner, with her wearing her new shoes, and only after we ate and had baths did we sit around the campfire to listen to Natasha's story.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, bowing to us despite being seated. Eirika sat in front of her, across the fire, and I sat next to Eirika. Everyone else was scattered about, and I actually had to look to find Joshua, directly behind Natasha. "Really, that was…"

"It's fine," Eirika reassured. She sat with perfect posture, and kept her expression calm. "But if we might get an explanation."

"Of course." Natasha closed her eyes briefly, before starting. "My name is Natasha, Princess Eirika. I served as a priestess in Grado's Imperial Temple." She bowed her head. "I saw you a few times when you visited with Prince Lyon, your highness."

"That's where Father McGregor served, so Lyon and I would visit to pay our respects, and to ask more questions about our history lessons." She smiled slightly. "He's the only one to ever scold Ephraim. How is he?"

"He… he's dead, your highness." Natasha curled her fingers into her skirts to hide their shaking. "He was arrested a few weeks ago, and was executed as a traitor."

"A traitor?!" Eirika's yelp was high enough to make me wince. A quick glance showed I wasn't the only one. "Him? Never! Yes, he and Lyon argued a bit over Lyon's research, but Lyon knew it was only because he worried! Lyon _adored_ him!"

"It's because Emperor Vigarde wanted him silenced." Natasha's voice grew quiet. "He knew… he knew the true purpose of this invasion." She took a shuddering breath and looked up again. "Emperor Vigarde seeks to destroy the Sacred Stones."

"The… what?" Eirika's jaw dropped. Hers wasn't the only one. "But that's… they're sacred treasures…!"

"They keep the darkness at bay. And yet, Emperor Vigarde wants them destroyed." Natasha ducked her head again. "Prince Lyon took Grado's from the temple, citing it was 'for his father'. For all I know, it could already be gone."

"Lyon…" Eirika's shoulders dropped. "This is…"

"I know it's hard to believe, but Father McGregor used his last words to tell me." She glanced up again. "Please…"

"Considering the war, I am not certain we should so easily trust someone from Grado," General Seth murmured, after a long moment of silence. "But _if_ she is telling the truth…"

"We saw monsters," Eirika whispered. Her eyes were dark with confusion, pain, and fear. "We fought creatures of legend. The legends say that the Stones are what protects us from the Demon King and his ilk. I can believe one is broken. I can believe the rest. But even if I didn't, the accusation is serious, too serious to ignore, no matter how much it chills me to the bone." She smiled bitterly at Natasha. "You'll forgive me, though, for hoping that there was some… misunderstanding?"

"I would be very happy if it was something that simple, my lady," Natasha replied. Her own smile was calm, gentle, and tired. "Would it be too much trouble to ask if I might travel with you?"

"Of course not." Eirika's smile warmed, and she glanced up to Joshua. "And what of you, Sir Mercenary?"

"I lost a bet with yonder cleric here," Joshua replied, shrugging. His eyes were sharp, but his smile was kind. "So, I'll be sticking with her."

"And your payment?" Eirika asked. "I can't guarantee you anything."

"Like I said, I lost a bet. I'm not working for money at the moment. I'm just helping out Natasha here, dove."

"...Dove?"

"It's a Jehannan thing," I explained, knowing that I'd better do it _now_ instead of later. "Better set up boundaries quick if you're uncomfortable. Jehannans are very free with affection, meaning lots of hugs, kisses, and _lots_ of terms of endearment." Mom used to do it all the time, and if she'd lived, I might've had the same habit. But time without her, and in more reserved Renais, bled it from me. "I'm guessing he went with 'dove' because doves symbolize peace, and you're known for your peaceful nature, Eirika."

"Hey, don't go revealing my secrets, petal," Joshua chided. He grinned when I rolled my eyes. "But she's right. Let me know if anything makes you uncomfortable. Jehannans don't tend to live long lives, thanks to mercenary work, so we're very free with a lot of things. I can be a bit better than some, since I've actually done lots of work outside of Jehanna, but I have my habits."

"Like making bets with a sister."

"Exactly." He stretched, still perfectly relaxed. Eirika still looked startled by the endearment. "However, I also recommend that we wrap up for the night. Natasha's about to faint, Emma's exhausted, and I've little doubts the rest of you are better, since I see most of you are struggling to appear alert." He smiled teasingly at everyone. "I'll volunteer for first watch. You lot decide who you want to watch _me_."

It still took a few moments for everyone to agree that yes, we were tired and no, trying to appear strong wasn't going to help anyone. We divided up tents as per usual, with Eirika and I sharing. I couldn't even remember if we had to or not, since everything knocked most of the details from my shopping out of my head, so I had no idea how many tents and bedrolls I'd bought. But we'd set up our tent as we always had, and no one protested, so before long, the two of us were curled up in our bedrolls, supposedly to sleep.

However, after a bunch of restless turning and brief respites that quickly fell apart thanks to nightmares, I gave up and pushed myself up, intending to just sit by the campfire again. But I paused, noticing something. Eirika was awake too.

"Nightmares get you too?" I whispered. She squeaked and rolled over, staring at me. "I normally sit outside to calm down."

"Oh, that's where you go," she murmured. She smiled shyly. "I thought I just kept you up."

"No, sadly, I never noticed. I'd head out to try and not keep _you_ up." I actually laughed a bit at that, startled by how ridiculous it was. "Well, we're both up." I got out of my bedroll to push to closer to hers and then slipped back into it. "What's up?"

"You mean besides us?" She smiled weakly at her own joke, and I managed another laugh. "I was just… thinking, really."

"About Serafew."

"And other things. Memories." She sat up then, and drew her knees into her chest, resting her arms on them. "You've been kind in not bringing up, but you heard what Tana said, right?"

"I heard a _lot_ of things Tana said, including a promise to verbally tear into your brother while in hearing of _her_ brother." Though, honestly, I wasn't sure how much I was looking 'forward' to that now. I had been, but now, with all the battles and everything, I felt like I held onto it just for Eirika and Tana. "You'll have to be more specific."

"My crush on Lyon." She smiled bitterly. "She was loud."

"...Well, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to know."

"I don't mind. Like she said, I'd planned on confessing, next time I saw him." She sighed, drooping. "I had it all planned out, you know? Got Ephraim to agree and everything, though that wasn't hard. He loved the idea." She smiled sadly. "There's this beautiful park in the city where Lyon and I loved to read, actually, a bit deeper than the market. I'd invite him there, trick the guards into leaving us alone, and then confess. I'd actually… been looking forward towards it." She drooped a little more. "I've had a crush on him for the longest time. I thought it was unrequited, but when we last met he gave me these beautiful earrings…" She sighed. "They're at the castle. I hadn't been wearing them. But they're beautiful earrings, shaped like wings. They're custom; I knew they were. Because I'd complained to him just a few weeks before that I really wanted wing-shaped earrings and couldn't find any. So, I thought… well, maybe I should go for it. It might make things awkward, but he clearly likes me enough to get me custom things, so if nothing else, we're good friends, and maybe we could…" Her voice grew softer and softer. "He's always so kind and gentle. This war must be breaking his heart."

"Like it is yours?" I rested a hand on her back and smiled. I was reminded of when I'd shyly told Monica about my own crush on Jacob, though mine wasn't quite sad. It hadn't been a war, after all. "Relax. I'm… sure he's fine. He's the prince. I doubt anything has happened." I patted her back. "You can ask Natasha a bit more, though."

"I'm scared, though. What if he's… changed…?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm honestly terrified by everything. Everything is falling apart, and I don't know what's going to remain the same, if anything. His father has gone mad. What if he did too?"

"...You love him, right? Lyon?" I waited until she nodded. "Well, just… just hold onto that." I wished I had better words to say. "You're holding onto the hope that your idiot brother is still alive. Why not hold onto a little more?"

"You think it's safe?"

"That's up to you." I shrugged. "But I feel like… if you're willing to hold onto a little, hold on to a lot. It burns no matter what. And maybe the best weapon we have in this war is hope." Though I had no idea what _I_ hoped for, other than seeing Orson again.

"...Yeah." She leaned into me, and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm scared."

"Me too." I rested my head against hers. "Want some funny stories?"

"Yeah. Do you want some too?"

"Yeah."

We stayed up very late, doing our best to make each other laugh. When Natasha, of all people, came in to check on us, worried, we ended up just dragging her into the insanity, though it took _much_ longer to get her to crack her professionalism enough to laugh.

It was weird. We were weird. But _everything_ was weird, so this was just how we had to survive.

* * *

 _Notes on Natasha:_

 _A 20-year-old cleric from Grado, entrusted with her mentor's dying words_

 _A bit inexperienced with a staff, but she has great potential. Moulder believes that with some practice and experience, she'll end up stronger than him._

 _Kind and gentle, with a tendency to overwork, she focuses not only on physical wounds, but mental as well, despite the pain she herself must be suffering._

 _Notes on Joshua:_

 _A 23-year-old gambling addict who works as a mercenary_

 _Fast and skilled, with enough strength to make his skill bite deep. He's clearly a very skilled mercenary, though he's the first to admit he's not invincible._

 _Roguish, casual, and incredibly kind. He took the time to introduce himself to everyone, and spent time with the shyer members of the group, making them laugh. He even made a point to ask Eirika how she was feeling about everything._

* * *

Author's notes: And here's two of my absolute favorite fire emblem characters, Joshua and Natasha. In game, Saleh has a brief in-story cameo where he just appears and disappears, hinting to Myrrh's existence, while Tethys cameos via visiting one of the villages, and she gives you a dragonshield. I expanded both a bit, more Tethys than Saleh's. Technically, there's an Amelia cameo too, but Emma didn't run into her.

It's well-known that Joshua cheats in many of his bets, so it's a pretty popular theory that he disguises his actual decisions with an illusion of chance. Joshua's official art also shows him with at least one ring and a couple of bracelets on his right wrist. Neither his official art nor his in-game art shows his ears, so there's… nothing that says he _doesn't_ have his ears pierced. The image of a strong wind ripping the Renais flag off the pole is inspired by a similar scene in The Two Towers (which, fun fact, wasn't planned! It just happened and they kept it in.).

Technically, the one and only side chapter of the game is after this chapter, but since that focuses entirely on Ephraim, and there's no way Emma would be there, we're actually skipping over it. Sorry to those who like it!

Next Chapter - Victims of War


	8. Chapter 6) Victims of War

Chapter 6) Victims of War

* * *

 _We pass through Serafew, picking up two more members in the process and troubling information. An uneasy gloom hovers over all of us as we sneak through Grado itself. We're in hostile territory now, and ever since the border, it feels like we're being watched. I hope it's just me being paranoid, but I swear I see wyverns in the distance, staring at us, whenever we pause for a quick break._

 _The magnitude of our stupidity is really noticeable now. Gods, what were we thinking?_

* * *

"Careful, Natasha, there's a root," I whispered, giving her my hand to help her over. In order to lessen the chances of being caught, we were hiking off the road, and away from any real paths. It was hard on those not used to it, like Eirika and Natasha, but Eirika had General Seth helping her, so I stuck close to Natasha. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied. She squeezed my hand in silent thanks before letting go, falling in step next to me again. "I'm just worried."

"I can understand." Not only did we have the more 'oh, freaking gods, we are sneaking through enemy territory', but she had the additional 'I just escaped from here' thing. "How are your feet?"

"Hurting, but still manageable." She used to say 'I am fine', but I took to just carrying her whenever she answered that question with that answer, so now, she was a little more honest. "I do hope we stop soon. I'm worried about Ross's ankle."

"I told him not to run ahead." But, despite my warnings, Ross had leapt ahead, and promptly managed to twist his ankle. Moulder and Natasha had tended to it, but he was still forbidden to walk on it until a better check-up. He rode with Franz now, with Garcia walking beside them both. "He's silly."

"Rambunctious is the word I'd use," Joshua commented, falling into step with Natasha and I. She and I grew used to his sudden arrivals; he'd often leave the path to pick herbs or fruit that caught his attention. "Here, try this." He passed us couple of berries. Natasha hesitated, as always, but I popped them into my mouth without even looking, rewarded with a sharp tangy-sweet taste that made me squeal in delight. "Blueberries. Didn't catch much, but neither of you ate a lot during lunch."

"I'm surprised you found some," Natasha murmured. She carefully ate the few Joshua had given her, smiling. "It's not the season."

"A few brave ones. I got some herbs that might interest you as well."

"Thank you, Joshua." Her smile grew, and it lit up her whole face. She had one of the prettiest smiles I'd ever seen. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime." Joshua stepped a little closer to me and a familiar scent washed over me. I recognized it in a heartbeat. "So…"

"Frankincense," I whispered, feeling almost nostalgic. It had been a common scent in my house, despite how expensive it could be. Same with Mom's favorite perfume, susinum, which was _really_ expensive. Lasted forever, though. "You wear it?"

"I have a weakness for good smells, petal," Joshua laughed, turning his attention to me. I wasn't surprised. Jehannans took perfumes very seriously, mostly because that was one of the two products, basically, they could sell to other countries for needed money. The other was themselves. "I always carry a few bits of perfume with me. Want to try some when we next stop?"

"Yes." I hadn't thought of perfume in months. I'd put it all away, because the air at my house had been so clogged with the smell of lilies, the traditional flower for funerals in Renais. "I don't suppose you have susinum, though."

"Actually, I might still have some left, but it's more for a memory." His smile became nostalgic. "It's my mother's favorite."

"Mine's as well. That's why I asked." I laughed, feeling strangely chipper. It was weird. I felt almost like my old self. "Monica says the smells drove Dad crazy and he refused to pick a favorite. Do you know your dad's favorite?"

"Frankincense, and I can really understand why. It's a great smell." His smile switched to a grin. "But do you have a personal favorite?"

"Not yet. Sell me on some."

"Gladly." He glanced over to Natasha and winked. "So, lovely, do you have a favorite scent?"

"Me?" Natasha asked, startled at being dragged into the conversation. Her face flushed slightly and she ducked her head shyly. "I've… always been fond of cedar… we burned incense of it in the Temple."

"Cedar, huh? I think that's one of the few scents I don't have, sadly," Joshua sighed. He became comically cross. "And here I was hoping to wow you with your favorite scent."

"Frankincense is also nice."

"Oh?" He grinned again. "Now, is it a nice smell, or is it nice because I smell of it?"

"Come on; that's just a mean question," I teased, jumping to Natasha's defense. She turned a little redder. "What scents do you have?"

"Well…" His grin faded, and his eyes sharpened. "At the moment? Danger. Keep close."

I almost asked, but then laughter echoed through the fog before a man wearing heavy robes materialized in front of our group. I stared, at first in shock of their sudden appearance, and then in sheer bafflement that someone looked so stereotypically evil. His _eyes_ were hidden even.

"How did he show up?" I finally asked. Everyone else either froze or got their weapons out. "Was it the fog?"

"No, it was teleportation," Natasha explained. She frowned, eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "A type of dark magic, it requires two magic circles and a great portion of the user's power. Though they say the Demon King was capable of teleportation without the use of circles. It's like the warp staff, but grander."

"Oh." That seemed troubling, and for one reason. "That's a lot of trouble to go through, and requires a lot of preparation." They'd known. They'd known we were coming, and that we'd come down this path. "Think he might continue being stereotypically evil and rattle off his plans?"

"That would be lucky."

"Well, you're the one who won the bet for our lives." Or, rather, she was the one who got Joshua to cheat. "Oh, wait, he's talking now, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is." So, instead, Natasha and I turned our attention to the robed man, Joshua standing guard next to us.

"Hello, and welcome to Grado," the man said, pretending to be perfectly civil. Eirika looked so lost; I'd laugh if these were better circumstances. "I am Novala, dear princess." He chuckled darkly, and I glanced at Joshua, wondering if I was really seeing this. He looked similarly baffled, and shrugged, even as he dropped a hand to his sword. "My, you're as beautiful as the rumors describe."

"I… thank you?" Eirika managed to reply. Her voice sounded a little strangled.

"Such politeness! And you're even wearing your bracelet!" He smiled slowly. "Let's begin there. Might you surrender that trinket to me?" That seemed strange, and even strange was how General Seth stiffened suddenly. "Obedience will spare you pain. Why, I might even take you to see Prince Ephraim if you do."

"My brother?" Eirika's eyes narrowed. "I highly doubt a worm like you even saw my brother, much less did anything to him."

"Grado defeated your brother at Renvall. General Valter had quite the good time of it, from my understanding." Novala paused, waiting for a response. Eirika simply watched him, not reacting at all. "You won't acquiesce?" He sighed heavily, like an exasperated parent. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." He snapped his fingers, and there was another flash of light. This time, a terrified child appeared, and he snagged her prevent her from escaping. "How about this, then?" His voice still seemed sickeningly polite. I was reminded of poisoned honey. "Her life is in your care. Surely a bracelet isn't worth it."

"...No." Eirika closed her eyes, looking almost defeated. "You're-"

"Eirika, wait," I called, pushing to the front to stand next to her. Novala snarled at me, but I glared right back. I was surprised that he flinched. "Isn't this strange?" I took her shoulder, leaning in close to whisper. "Why go through such trouble for a bracelet?"

"I don't know," she whispered back. She shook her head. "But a bracelet isn't worth a child's life."

"But is it worth a war?" I gripped her shoulder tightly, to _make_ her listen to me. "All this preparation, for just a bracelet? General Seth's reaction from before, when it was stolen? Eirika, _think,_ instead of react _._ " Fine words, coming from me. But needed. "There's more to that bracelet than you know, clearly. That man clearly decided it was worth setting up teleportation circles, getting hostages, and setting up this whole damn act."

"But…" She glanced at me, eyes conflicted. "I…"

"You're taking so _long_ ," Novala whined. He 'tsked' and shook his head. "I am afraid that I must ask for your weapons as well, in this case."

"Surrendering our weapons now would be tantamount to suicide," General Seth suddenly growled, stepping up to Eirika's other side. He glared at Novala as well, and I noticed he flinched again. This time, though, it made sense. _No one_ wanted an angry General Seth on their ass. "You demand too much."

"Bah, and here I thought the years of peace would've dulled a knight's wits a little more." He sighed mournfully, one hand curling into the girl's hair. "Well, she's no more use to me." He jerked her head back sharply, and black light flickered in his hands before darting for her exposed neck. Blood splattered his robes and the grass as the magic decapitated her. "I suppose the other villagers are just as useless." I stared as the girl's body crumpled like a little doll, her head dangling from his hand by the hair. "Oh, there's giant spiders. I'm sure they'll appreciate the meal."

"How…?" Eirika gasped, looking at the little girl's head. She looked paler than a ghost, her eyes filling with tears as she covered her mouth. "How could you…?"

"You're a fool." He tossed the head at Eirika, and it hit her square in the chest. Blood splashed across her face and dribbled over her arms as she caught it. "This is war. There are no rules. There is no honor. You can do anything, without consequence!" He cackled, the sound bouncing eerily off the fog again. Eirika ducked her hand and cradled the little girl's head to her chest. "With this, I'll become a general and rule over all these idiots! You lost, Renais! You and your idiotic ravings of diplomacy and peace mean nothing to anything or anyone! You are no-"

"Silence." One word. One cold word froze him in place, and it took me a second to realize _Eirika_ was the one who said it. "Hold your tongue." She looked up slowly, still cradling the girl's head to her chest. Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the blood splattered across it, but her eyes were as hard as ice, her face a mask of tranquil fury and regal elegance. "You mean to call me nothing? My country, nothing? You only show your own insecurities with such rambling."

"What…?" Novala's jaw dropped before he snarled. "How dare you-?!"

"That is my question." Eirika gently set the girl's head on the soft grass before standing again slowly. Every movement had a strange grace to it, like a… like those pictures of lionesses I'd read about. "We of Renais have long honored our allegiance with Grado. Ephraim and I in particular loved it, for it was the home of our dear Lyon. We considered it a second home. And yet, you invaded without warning." Her words were soft, cold, but each word seemed to weigh heavily, like stones. And she 'threw' each one deliberately. "You ravaged my lands. You killed my father. But still, I told myself to not hate. I told myself this could be fixed. If I gave in to my despair, if I gave myself to anger, then the bond between our lands would be lost forever. It couldn't be fixed."

"Such naive idiocy! You-"

"I thought I told you to be silent." Her eyes narrowed slightly, just slightly, and even with the tears, they flashed, like the lightning in a storm. Novala actually stepped back. "I refused to hate. I refused to give in. My strength is meager, but it can do that much." She looked briefly at the girl's body before returning her attention to Novala. "But you… if this is Grado's true face… if you intend to extinguish Renais without pity, without remorse…" Her eyes narrowed again, this time in an outright _glare_. "If that is the case, then there is no room in my heart for forgiveness."

"Impudent girl!"

"Hold your tongue, or it will be removed." Eirika drew her rapier and aimed it right for his face. "I choose the path of peace, but if you force me to war, then I shall show you just how bad of an idea that is."

"If you think words will save you, then you're an idiot!" Novala stumbled back. "You will die! You, your people, and your pathetic country too!" He disappeared then, in a flash of white-purple light, and the fog rolled in.

Eirika took a shuddering breath and turned to face us. She still cried, and her legs were shaking. "I'm sorry, but it appears we're in for another fight," she whispered to us. All of us stared, still in awe of her. "I know we wanted to…"

"As if any of us are standing aside for a cliche who kills a child," I snapped, recovering first. I slung an arm around her shoulders and felt her tremble. So, I pulled her into a one-armed hug to reassure her. "This fog is going to be annoying, though."

"Not for me," Colm instantly reassured. He smirked when I looked at him. "I've got good eyes. I can see pretty well here. Think we've got some things to use as torches."

"Like Moulder's pack?"

"One time. _One. Time_."

"It was a memorable time!" I found myself laughing. "Very memorable!"

"As memorable as the coming battle," Eirika whispered, smiling slightly. Her eyes were red from her crying, and she sounded a little stuffed-up now, but she gave everyone a serious look. "To arms, everyone."

We got to work prepping for battle, checking our weapons, doing some little bits of trading between one another. I helped Natasha fill up her pack with vulneraries, just in case, and in the middle of that, I remembered something that had confused me.

"Why did he flinch?" I mumbled, more thinking aloud than anything. Natasha made a questioning noise, though, so I repeated it. "Novala, when I glared. I wonder why he flinched at me."

"Red eyes, take warning," Natasha answered instantly. She smiled thinly when I gave her a weird look. "It's an old saying in Grado. They say that those with red eyes are special to the Queen-Goddess of the Dead, and She sends out the Gods of Death to steal any who bring them to tears or anger."

"Really?" I'd never heard that. "Red-eyed children are lucky in Jehanna. That's why they're so common there."

"Though part of that is probably because the royal family had red eyes," Joshua pointed out as he walked over. He checked over Natasha's pack, and then checked over me, fixing my gauntlets. "And one specific reason why they're considered lucky is because Jehanna believes those with red eyes and red hair have blood in their spirits and, thus, will be skilled warriors and a talent for escaping death."

"Oh, I never knew _that_ part of the story," I mumbled, feeling a little awkward now. Monica had liked reminding me how red-eyes were lucky. But, then again, part of my 'luck' was surviving when others didn't. "Mom had just mentioned the lucky part."

"Meh, it's all superstition anyway." He shrugged. "Besides, both are nicer than Rausten. Rausten actively calls red-eyed kids 'Children of Misfortune' who bring bad luck to everyone they come in contact with."

"Oh." I thought of my parents and my friends. I thought of my village. I wondered if there was… something true about that too. "Huh. Frelia? Carcino? Never had a problem in Renais before, and, well, the merchants, but…"

"Carcino likes anyone with money. Renais is such a melting pot that red eyes aren't abnormal." He shrugged. "Frelia, I'm not so certain. Never heard anything, but until I fell in with this odd group, I never had a Frelian look me in the eye. But that could be because I was a mercenary." He patted my head, and I wondered if he knew how uncomfortable I was becoming. "Regardless, there's a fight. Let's get prepped, shall we?"

"...Right!" I had to wonder, though. Why go through all this trouble for a bracelet? "Let's do this."

* * *

Battles in the fog sucked. Our enemies just jumped out of nowhere, even with Colm's helpful eyes, and sometimes, I swore they knew _exactly_ where we were, even as we flailed about.

"I am so _done_ with fog," I growled. It had always been a passing inconvenience in the past, but _gods_ did I wish it was something I could kill. Then I felt ill at the thought of _wanting_ to kill something. "So done."

"I hear ya," Ross grumbled. Somehow, we ended up fighting back to back. "Ugh, this is gloomy."

" _That's_ your complaint?" I wished I could shoot him an incredulous look, but I was a little busy trying to keep some sword users from cutting him down. "You need reconsider your priorities."

"What? It is!" He bellowed suddenly, scaring the living hell out of me, and then he actually sent another axe user skidding back. "Ha! You see that?"

"Yeah, sure." I could _not_ understand how he had so much energy. I felt like I was about to drop dead from exhaustion. "You're amazing."

"I am, aren't I? My muscles have gotten bigger too!" Ross actually made a point to face me, just so he could grin. It looked damned creepy with the blood splattering him. "Hey, are you trying to live up to your dad too? My dad told me about him."

"I'm trying to not die, Ross." My voice was a little snappier than I would've liked, but I just could not deal with his energy. "That's really it. It's hard to 'live up' to a dead parent anyway."

"Oh?" He gave me a curious look, apparently unbothered by my bluntness or snapping. "But, I mean, your parents were cool, right?"

"...Yes, I suppose. Despite them dying." I sighed, feeling even more exhausted now. "But dying in the line of duty, and dying from a freak accident aren't exactly my ideas of a good death." Then again, there really wasn't any such thing as a 'good death'.

"Why are you so focused on how they died, though?" He said the words lightly, but for some reason, they felt like rocks thrown at my face. "I mean; is it because you miss them so much? I miss my mom a lot too, but I try to think of how she, you know, lived, right? That's what Pops said to do, when things got bad." He just continued to look so, so curious, but I couldn't answer him. My mouth was too dry. "Why don't you?"

"...I suppose because I have no one to tell me that." The words came out slowly, and each one felt like another stone hitting me. "Everyone died."

"Well, I guess I'm telling you that, then. Pops says it better, though." He grinned. "I'll get him to tell you too!"

I was saved from having to answer by some archers that ambushed us. Ross was clipped across the arm and ducked back to get it looked at. My chest plate dented as one hit me, but since I was left only with a bruise, and so, I lunged forward and skewered the archer, jumping back into the fighting. Pretty soon, I was too tired to think of Ross's words. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.

When I next hit a 'break' in the fighting, I thought I heard a scream in the distance. I paused, trying to figure out if I really did hear one, and decided I did. A chorus of them, in fact. Followed by an unearthly _shriek_ and sent shivers down my spine. I almost ran, automatically, but then I remembered Novala's words about villagers and spiders, and with a sinking feeling, I realized they had to be the sources of the noise.

Wherever they were, they didn't have much time. Even I could figure that out.

I looked around, wondering if any of mine were close, and I was startled to see Vanessa actually was. She had dismounted, fixing something on her saddle, her movements sharp and her expression grim. I had a guess of what she was planning, and I had a bad feeling of how it would turn out. I looked around again, saw that I was the _only_ one near her, because of course I was, and I took a deep, shuddering breath before walking towards her, my stomach sinking the whole time.

"Take me with you," I blurted as soon as I got close enough. Vanessa jerked her head up, startled. "You're going after them, right? Take me with you."

"I'll need the saddle for carrying them," Vanessa protested. She didn't deny what she was planning, though. "So-"

"You're the _only_ flier." Meaning she was the only chance the villagers had. "You can't rescue and fight. But I…" My mouth went dry as the full weight of what I suggested crashed on me. But I had to do this. Vanessa was going to get herself killed if I didn't, or worse, the villagers.

"...You're going to be their shield, and buy time for a rescue." Vanessa closed her eyes, thought briefly, and, after a moment, nodded. "Damn that I can't think of a better option right now. Maybe someone with heavier armor, but they'll weigh me down too much." She opened her eyes, mounted up, and gestured behind her. "Get on. You know how to ride, right?"

"Yeah, is it similar?" I climbed on and held onto her tightly. "Despite, you know, being in the air?"

"Extremely. Pegasus knights actually train on horses before being allowed to take to the air. The wings are used for gliding, not actually flapping." She clicked her tongue, and her pegasus took off at a gallop, slowly climbing into the air. The wind gently buffeted me in the face, and I held on even tighter, noticing that despite the lack of ground, she was right. Her pegasus kicked the air, as if there were some invisible road in the sky, and the wings simply kept her aloft.

It was rather fascinating. I wondered if I could convince Vanessa to give me a ride when we weren't in the middle of a probably doomed rescue mission.

We flew over the battlefield, faster than I would've expected, and headed for the mountains nearby, some outcropping or something right at the base, surrounded by some sharply steep hills that would've been a main to climb over. She flew directly there, and I wondered if she'd tried to head for them before, but had landed to fix her saddle. I supposed it didn't matter, though, so instead of asking, I just held onto her a little tighter as we eased into a drop, and the villagers slowly came into focus.

I couldn't see the giant spider, but I winced when I looked at them. Some were already dead, their bodies ripped apart by something. But, thankfully, not all. Some, mostly children, were curled up in the corner of this little outcropping, shielded by some older people, mostly teens, with a few adults. They looked at Vanessa and me like we were damn angels when we swooped down and I jumped off.

"We're here to help," I whispered to the closest ones. Something clacked behind me, but I made myself ignore it to smile at the villagers. They looked dazed. "Listen to Vanessa. She'll give you all the best shot you have." Then I whirled, lance at the ready, to face off against the giant spider. And it was _huge_. Its teeth were easily the size of my hands. Its pincers were the length of my arms. It's swollen body was easily the size of two horses, maybe even three. It's beady eyes were the size of eggs, and all of its attention was on me.

I could understand people's fears of spiders right now. I really could.

I glanced around, found a nicely sized rock, and kicked it at the thing to make sure I _held_ its attention, and then… well, I dodged. I focused on dodging, trying to not get torn apart by claws that were far, far sharper than a spider's legs had any right to be. I scored some minor hits in the process, but the gashes I got in return hinted on how it would be a bad idea to confront it directly. But that was fun. I didn't necessarily have to kill it, though if I did, I was certain no one would complain. But all I had to do was occupy it and, surprisingly luckily, it was the only one around. I only had to distract the one as Vanessa rescued villagers, taking two or even three at a time.

And that's what I did. I scooped up mud and threw it at its face. I ducked and rolled to the side, so that it would turn away from the villagers. I kicked rocks at it. And I dodged. A lot. Because the distraction had to be live bait, or otherwise, this wouldn't work.

At some point, though, I noticed a strange bit of silence around me. I heard no whimpers of fear, screams of terror. I heard no gasps of relief, or fluttering wings. I just head the clink-clack of the spider's teeth and claws, and my own labored attempts to fight. Confused, I turned and realized it was simply because… it was only the spider and me. Without my noticing, Vanessa had apparently rescued the last of the villagers. All I could see behind me were the dead, and they were quiet by nature.

Well, normally. The corpses in the forest still haunted my nightmares.

A sudden victorious screech and a wave of pain streaking through my back reminded me that no matter how distracted I was, the giant spider didn't just magically disappear or wait for me to recover. I stumbled and slipped in some mud, falling flat on my face, accidentally dodging another set of pincers and claws, even as I dropped my lance. A shadow fell over me, and I rolled, avoiding razor sharp fangs that had _tried_ to tear into the back of my skull. But before I could roll out of the way again, its legs slammed next to me, blocking my path. It did the same on the other side and loomed over me, beady eyes focused entirely on me, horribly sharp fangs creeping close. Looking at the fangs, I thought absently of how I'd once learned that _all_ spiders were venomous, and that all more or less injected venom through their bites. It was just that most weren't dangerous to humans. This one likely was, even without factoring in the venom, but I focused on the coloring and patterns, feeling strangely distant as I tried to figure out just what this spider _was_. Based on what I could see, mostly because of the distinct 'violin' pattern on its back, I guessed this 'spider' was related to a brown recluse, in which case its venom was _definitely_ going to be deadly. I was going to die. That much was clear. But it didn't seem to matter. It was like the death was going to happen to someone else. That distant feeling of dread when reading through an old, favorite, story, where you know what's going to happen or… something.

I closed my eyes and just let it approach. Its breath smelled horrible, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It didn't really matter. Orson was the only one who'd care if I disappeared, and he might even be happy that no one would stop his next suicide attempt. I'd get to see Monica again, and my parents. Mary, Jakob, and all my friends. It kind of sucked to die, but I didn't mind. So, I didn't fight back anymore. There wasn't… a point…

"EMMA!" A shout made my eyes fly open, and two seconds later, the spider actually screeched and reared back. Automatically, I rolled, avoiding its claws as it slammed into the ground again. It took me a few tries to get my feet under me, and that's when I realized who had called my name: Vanessa. Her normally calm expression was now a mask of fury, and she got her pegasus to dart dangerously close to the spider, ripping out her javelin to throw it a second time.

"Hey, I'm fine!" I yelled, worried. She was far too close. This thing wasn't all _that_ fast, but I wasn't sure if she could dodge at that short of a distance. _I_ couldn't, and while she was more experienced, she also had to deal with a pegasus. "Get back!" Vanessa glanced over to me as she went to retrieve her javelin, and smiled in relief. That smile burned, but my worry was greater. "Leave it and get away from it! It's really damn-!"

Two blinks. I just blinked twice. One. Two. At the first, the spider twisted, dark eyes focused entirely on Vanessa, though she still looked at me and still smiled. At the second, the spider's claws caught Vanessa by the legs, dragging her from her pegasus and into its fangs. Her smile had fallen for shock and fear.

In that very distant 'none of this can be real' haze that fell over me again, a 'scream', because I had no other word for it, echoed and it automatically made my hair stand on end, because of how _rare_ I'd heard the sound before. After all, it wasn't a human's scream. No human could sound like that, a muted, but rumbling, roar of sheer rage. But a horse could, though a domesticated horse rarely 'screamed' like this. It seemed a pegasus could make the same sort of noise, which made sense, but that only served to terrify me more, because there was only one real 'translation' for that particular sound: ' _I will fucking kill you!'._ And Vanessa's pegasus lived up to it, slamming into the spider's side again and again until it released Vanessa, kicking it in the face to drive it further from her as she hit the ground with a dull 'splat'.

She didn't move. Even as her pegasus nudged her, she didn't move. Even as blood puddled under her, she didn't move.

The spider did, though. It moved closer, despite the blood streaming down its face and sides, despite how some of its eyes were mush from the pegasus's hooves, claws raised and fangs bared. And something in my head snapped. I didn't care if I lived or died, _but damn if I'd see someone die in front of me again_!

"Don't you fucking dare!" I snarled, lunging for the spider. My legs didn't cooperate, though, and I stumbled, feeling exhaustion flaw up my legs. The little injuries I'd taken, so minor just a few seconds ago, ached and burned, pain spiking through me. I nearly fell on my face, but, instead, I used the downward momentum to actually scoop up my fallen lance. "Get away from them!" I nearly slipped again, but this time, I just went with it, tipping myself backwards so that I at least slid _forward_. I made it underneath and stabbed upward with my lance, catching it in the stomach. Blood spurted out of the injury, and it gushed all over me as I jerked the lance out. The spider _screeched_ , the sound bouncing off the mountains, and I managed to get my feet under me to go for another attack. This time, I pushed off from the ground, adding my leg's strength to my arms to drive my lance into its head. I caught it straight on, and twisted, bringing the tip up and around, tearing through its face.

It lunged forward anyway, blood pouring from its stomach, head, and _face_ , fangs bared. Gritting my teeth, I stepped back, spinning my lance up and behind in the hopes, _hopes_ , that maybe it could add just a bit more momentum to this strike, and then lunged, throwing my full weight into it. The lance went straight its skull, blood and bone splinters flying past me as I pushed it deeper and deeper. It writhed before me, legs desperately digging into the mud to try and escape. But it couldn't, not with the other injuries, and so, it just slowly crumpled into a shuddering ball, not making a single sound as it died.

I stood over it, panting heavily, wondering just how the hell I managed that, and if the spinning actually did help. But then I remembered why I'd gotten so pissed off.

"Vanessa!" I twisted, slipped, and fell in the mud again as I tried to reach her, but I scrambled up to keep going. I fell again, and decided to save myself some time by crawling to her side. "Vanessa!" I rolled her over, and pressed my ear to her chest automatically, as if I could somehow hear her breathing through her chestplate. I felt her chest move, though, so that was enough. "Vanessa…" Taking note of where most of the blood was, I pushed her tunic up figure out if it had actually bitten her or not. Unfortunately, it had and panic flooded me when I saw the bite was already blanched, surrounded by a red ring. In a normal brown recluse, that would take _hours_ , but whatever made the spider grow to ridiculous sizes apparently also accelerated the venom's effects. In fact, I thought I could already see a blister forming in the center part, which normally took twelve hours at minimum. "Vanessa…!" She was dying. She was dying, because she came back for me. Because she'd gotten close to help me escape.

This was all my fault. Worse, I was now the only one who could _save_ her because it was just me and her here. This was… I…

A whicker caught my attention, and I jerked my head up to Vanessa's pegasus. It looked to its saddle, as if saying 'get her on me'. "She can't ride you while unconscious," I whispered, shaking my head. It stamped its foot, making a strange 'squelching' sound thanks to the mud, and jerked its head towards the again. "I'm telling you. She can't. I don't care how balanced you _think_ you are, it cannot be done!" It gave me a look that I swore screamed 'holy hell, stop being a stupid human'. "I'm not putting her on-"

The pegasus trotted over and basically headbutted me in the chest, nearly sending me crashing into Vanessa. As I stared, it looked pointedly at me, and _then_ to the saddle. It still took a few seconds, a few precious seconds, to click.

"...Oh." I got it now. "You want me to ride you, while carrying Vanessa." That was _so_ much more logical. "Right, that's…" I sighed, shaking my head. "No, moving. Now."

It took me a few tries to figure out how to mount up, while keeping Vanessa secure _and_ putting pressure on the bite. I worried for her legs, but they bled sluggishly in comparison, and weren't poisoned, so I just focused on that, and staying on. As soon as I did, though, her pegasus took off, barely giving me time to brace myself. It climbed quickly, far quicker than before, making my ears pop. It also went _high_ , much higher than before. I felt dizzy, and clung to the saddle to keep from falling off. My pulse accelerated, and I almost felt like I was hyperventilating. I struggled to keep conscious, and focused everything on Vanessa. Her blood was warm as it seeped through my fingers, but her body seemed like it was growing colder by the second.

To my surprise, though, I slowly managed to drag myself out of the tunnel, and while my pulse remained high, my breathing evened out and I glanced down, noticing that the field below, what bits I could see through the fog, looked like a tapestry, really, with bunches of little 'dots' intermingling together. But it also told me why the pegasus had gone so high, so quickly; we were out of range of the archers. If any remained.

I pulled Vanessa closer to me, and bent down slightly, like how I'd lean over Peachblossom's neck when I wanted to go faster. Vanessa's pegasus seemed to understand the same 'signal' and pushed forward, galloping without galloping, the wind rushing past my ears. My eyes teared up from the whipping air, but I narrowed them and kept my eyes open, clinging to the saddle, trusting Vanessa's pegasus knew what it was doing.

I regretted that trust when it suddenly _dropped_ , the 'tapestry of the field' rapidly solidifying into a mess of grass and trees, of bloody patches and broken weapons. My ears popped again, and I bloodied my lip to keep from screaming, just automatically, at the sight of the ground rushing to meet us.

But at the last second, the pegasus 'righted' itself, and hit the ground with teeth-rattling _thud_ , galloping on the ground itself to bleed off momentum. It took a couple of blinks, and a swipe across my eyes to see that my trust wasn't misplaced; it had taken us _right_ to where the others had apparently set up camp.

"Emma!" Colm ran towards us, waving his arms to make sure I could see him. I tiredly waved before dismounting, gathering Vanessa in my arms. I tried to take a step, though, and found that my legs didn't want to cooperate. Between the various bits of fighting and the ride, my legs could barely even hold me up. "Good, with you two back, that means-"

"Get some better eyes! Vanessa needs a healer!" I snapped, giving him an incredulous look. I knew I looked like a literal bloody mess, and I was literally carrying an unconscious, bloody Vanessa. "Here!" I transferred her into his arms, and I noticed my hands were shaking. "Just… just go. I'm fine. But she's not. I'll see the others in a second. I…"

"I will," Colm whispered. He gave me a surprisingly kind smile. "And you'll owe me."

"For asking for help to save Vanessa?"

"For making Neimi cry. See her when you've calmed down a bit, will you? Glad you're back." He turned and ran off. It took me a second to realize that he might've just been trying to reassure me, and recognized that I was in no mood for it. I really did owe him.

"Emma!" Eirika ran towards me, from a different direction than Colm was heading, and I saw that Neimi apparently wasn't the only one I made cry. Tears rolled down her face too. "You're okay!" she breathed, closing the distance between us quickly. Without even pausing, she threw her arms around me in a tight hug, tight enough that I found it hard to breath. "Oh, thank… thank everything… you're okay… you're okay…" But I couldn't breathe for another reason too, a horrible realization clawing through my tired, fuzzy brain. "I'm so glad… Thank you… thank you…"

...Vanessa had freaked out when she thought I'd die. Eirika was _crying_ over the possibility. I...

"I'm sorry," I finally whispered, reaching up to return her hug. Her tears soaked my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She kept on crying, and I kept on apologizing, hugging her as tightly as she hugged me. I couldn't think of anything else to do.

* * *

When Eirika finally let me go, it was because General Seth pointed out that I _really_ needed a bath and he had one prepared for me. After the bath, I tended to my own injuries, getting a quick once-over by Natasha before she returned to help Moulder with Vanessa, and then tended to Vanessa's pegasus, insisting on it, in fact. My arms trembled from the effort, and my legs continued to hold me up through sheer stubbornness alone. Lute, surprisingly, helped me, rattling off facts about pegasi as she did. She also informed me that Novala perished, with Artur killing him, and that all the villagers Vanessa had rescued had made it home safely. We'd been invited to actually stay in the village, but Eirika had refused, stating she didn't want to bring more danger to them.

After all that, I made a point to say 'hi' to Neimi, getting cried on in the process, and then collapsed in the supply tent, in theory to do inventory. In reality, it was just the tent closest to where Natasha and Moudler were working on Vanessa. I… wanted to be near. Just in case.

"So, is there something _really_ wrong with that batch of lances we stole from our enemies corpses, or are you just spaced out?" Joshua walked into the tent and crouched down, peering at my face. He had a gash across one cheek and a bandage around his neck, but otherwise, he seemed just fine. "You there, petal?" he asked, poking my cheek. I blinked slowly at him, and then glanced down, realizing that I had, indeed, just been staring at the lances. Vanessa's and mine had been left behind, and I had no intentions of retrieving them. "I think you need a break."

"Maybe," I mumbled. I sighed and set my papers to the side, realizing that I'd barely finished cataloguing the swords we had. "What brings you in here?"

"I was checking on our healers, and then learned you were supposedly working in here." He picked up the papers, frowning a little as he looked over them. "You have excellent handwriting."

"I have lots of practice writing letters to Orson." I picked up one of the lances, checking the weight, and then set it down. "Hey, Joshua?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think of those 'child of misfortune' stories?" I couldn't help but think of it. I had before, and now… now it was just stuck in my head, like a weight tied to my brain. "I mean…"

"Personally, I think there's a confirmation bias." He sat down next to me and reached over to drag me closer to him, pillowing my head against his shoulder. "People like scapegoats. Red eyes are unusual outside of Jehanna. It's easier to blame and hate people that don't look like you. Simple logic, really."

"So, you don't think there's anything to it?"

"Well, there could be." He reached up and stroked my hair. I relaxed a little, reminded of home. The frankincense I could still smell brought back memories of happier times. "But, really, everyone has good and bad luck. People notice the bad more than the good."

"But it's my fault Vanessa…"

"Petal, I'm assuming you think that because Vanessa saved you. Perhaps it was your fault for being in a situation where you needed to be saved. But she made that choice. Don't take that from her. Everyone has a right to choose." He rested his cheek on my head. "Besides, you saved her too."

"More like her pegasus."

"Her pegasus couldn't keep her own. You did. And I'm willing to bet that you both only got out of there because you killed the spider." He started stroking my hair again. "But what else is weighing on you, petal? There's more to this than that. I can tell."

"Well, it _is_ a lot of that." After all, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I _did_ have a target this whole time for my anger and grief: myself. "But I suppose I just…" I tried to figure out how to explain. "I've lost most of my family and friends before this all began. Death is a pretty constant companion for me. I've only got my brother-in-law left." I closed my eyes, leaning more into him. "So, I… I thought no one would care. If the ground just swallowed me up, a few people might mourn, but no one would freak out or anything. Just Orson." My throat closed up, choking on the words, and I coughed to clear it. "But Vanessa… Vanessa almost died because she looked _so relieved_ to see I wasn't dead that she got distracted. Eirika thanked the gods I was safe. Neimi was in tears. Hell, even Colm welcomed me back with a kind smile." Others in the camp had done the same. Even Natasha, half-distracted, had hugged me when she finished checking my injuries. "I…"

"It always sucks realizing you mean more to the people around you than you _ever_ thought possible." He summarized it so neatly that I lifted my head to give him an incredulous look. "Oh, come on. I'm a mercenary. I've had that realization before. Though, granted, I had it quicker than most do."

"Why?"

"...I ran away from home." His eyes became distant, and I knew he wasn't seeing the canvas of the tent, but the never-ending sand dunes of Jehanna. "My dad had died shortly before, and things got… well, let's go with weird. I know no other way to summarize it. But it made me determined to learn more about the world, more about _Jehanna_. So, I ran, and honestly thought my mother, my uncle, and… everyone else wouldn't have cared much."

"But they did, didn't they?"

"I heard my mother collapsed. My uncle spent the better part of a year trying to track me down. Even now, I hear that they still look."

"Did you not contact them?"

"Nope." His eyes focused back on me, and his smile was distinctly bitter. "When I first heard, I was ashamed. I was ashamed I thought so little of them, and of our bonds. I became determined to make it all worth it. To learn enough to make it 'worth' their pain, since I unintentionally sacrificed their feelings for my selfishness."

"Have you?"

"Maybe. At the least, I've started considering going home. Then the war broke out, and I lost a bet." His smile became a grin. "You're stuck with me for a while, petal."

"Meh, you smell nice, at least." I leaned back against his shoulder. "I wish I could do more for Vanessa, though."

"Well, you can. I'm surprised I didn't find you singing a Prayer Song, actually. Do you not know any?"

"...No, I do." I laughed hollowly. Prayer Songs… they were 'special' songs in Jehanna, most often sung when a family member or friend was ill or injured. They were songs that the gods were said to love _best_ , and they were sung in the hopes that the gods would grant the infirm mercy. "As I said, death is a constant companion."

"Who did you sing for last?"

"...My sister, who was in a lot of pain. Death was a mercy for her, even if it hurt me dearly." I sighed. "Not so much when the pneumonia took most of my friends, though. So, I'm a bit afraid."

"Then no wonder." He reached over to prod my cheek. I squeaked and made a face. "If you're going to buy the 'child of misfortune' thing, then you should buy all the superstitions. Including Grado's. You remember what Natasha said? The Queen of the Dead loves those with red-eyes, and takes away those who cause them tears and pain. But who's to say the gods don't misinterpret? Humans aren't perfect, so how can we expect gods to be?"

"Then what do you suggest?"

"What else? I suggest making a bet with fate, and wagering your hope." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. He made a point to show me it was a 'fair' coin. "Call it in the air." He flipped it up, the coin sparkling in the faint candlelight.

I watched it spin, up and up, my stomach dropping and my heart thudding in my chest. It seemed to move so, so slowly, and my mind whirled as I tried to 'choose', because damn it, he forced me into one. But as it began to fall, I went with my first impulse, and when I opened my mouth, I didn't say 'heads' or 'tails'. Instead, I tentatively sang, picking the song I thought might give me my 'best shot', the one Mom would always sing whenever Monica and I were sick. It wasn't a very common one. It was one really only known to Jehanna's nobility, specifically those who lived near Jehanna Keep.

Joshua jumped in on the second line. Somehow, I wasn't surprised he knew it. His voice was stronger than mine, and he harmonized with ease, bolstering my high-pitch, hesitant, head-voice song into something pretty. As we continued to sing, though, I felt my courage soar with the notes, and I switched from my head-voice to my 'normal', quite a bit lower. Joshua switched easily, though, so that he still harmonized, and it actually became a little fun, singing.

I hadn't had fun singing in a while. I almost forgot I _could_.

When we finished, a little bit of clapping startled me. It didn't startle Joshua, though, so he must've heard Eirika come in. "Sorry, I just heard some lovely singing, and had to find the source," she explained, hesitantly coming over. She moved the lances out of the way and sat down in front of us, tucking her legs under her since she was wearing a skirt. "I've never heard that song before."

"You likely wouldn't, since it's a deep part of Jehanna's culture," Joshua explained. He smiled, but his smile had the hidden words of 'so, do not ask for us to teach you'. "We're singing to ask the gods to have mercy on Vanessa."

"So, to ask they aid in her recovery."

"Well, that's the _hope_. The song itself is just 'have mercy please'. So, either heal her, or make her death painless." His smile widened slightly at Eirika's incredulous look. "Let me guess. You're wondering why we'd ask for death." Eirika's sudden mottled flush hinted that was _exactly_ what she'd been thinking. "Well, it involves a really big problem with Jehanna. It's not a country, or culture, that's kind to the physically disabled."

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean that losing a leg seals a mercenary's death, where in other countries, it would be an inconvenience at worst." Joshua sighed, and reached up to actually remove his hat, dropping it to his lap. "A mercenary without a leg can't work. Same with losing an arm. Let's not even go into blindness, hard of hearing, loss of fingers… Hell, someone in my former troop had epilepsy, and struggled to hide it because they worried they wouldn't get a job for it. I've known something as common as asthma to also hurt a mercenary's paycheck."

"But… why?" Eirika's blush faded for confusion. "I mean… um…" She struggled to try and word her thoughts but gave up with a shrug. "Why?"

"Jehanna has to import most of their food. Less money, less food. Starvation is a problem in Jehanna, even with the crown taking half of every job's payment." Joshua leaned against me again, and that let me hear the quiet growl of frustration in his voice. "Those who can't fight or do some other sort of meaningful job starve, and most meaningful jobs are filled by people who _should_ be relaxing and enjoying the last years of their life, but can't because starvation is a risk for them too."

"...I had no idea that Jehanna was so poorly off."

"Few do. Jehannans have a prideful streak for the most part, a refusal to ask for help from 'outsiders'. Now, thankfully, I lost my pride to a bet _long_ ago, so I don't mind complaining." He flashed a grin, but there was something pained in it. "I hope… I can help fix its problems."

"I'm sure you can." Eirika gave him a brilliant smile in return. "When Ephraim and I reclaim Renais, we'll help too. I'll even make him do the paperwork for it, so that things get done faster."

"When, huh?" Joshua laughed, and there was something hidden in it. "Well, let's get your brother first, right? After that, you and I can talk about that little deal."

"I look forward to it."

"I thought I heard talking." Natasha walked in then, grey with exhaustion. Her hood was down, and her hair was damp, like she'd just washed it. Water dripped from her hands, and soaked her sleeves. But she was smiling. "Well, I am pleased to inform you that Vanessa will pull through," she informed us. Eirika squealed in delight, Joshua grinned, and I just stared in shock. "She's even safe to move, but we'll want to avoid a major battle for a while. She's not fit to fight."

"But we can push forward tomorrow, and get to a hopefully safer camp?" Eirika asked, leaning forward a little eagerly. She squealed again when Natasha nodded. "Oh, that's wonderful!" She jumped to her feet, hopping a little to avoid falling. "We should celebrate!"

"And how do you propose to do that?" Joshua asked. He ruffled my hair with an 'I told you so' smirk, and then went to gently support Natasha, resting a hand on her back. "I'm curious."

"We…" Eirika frowned a little, sulking in fact, before her face lit up with a grin. "We can sing! We can celebrate with some songs!"

" _Not_ Prayer Songs, since she's fine." Joshua grinned, though, clearly amused. Natasha looked more than a little confused. "But I know many others."

"Excellent!" Eirika skipped out of the tent. Natasha, at this point, really looked like she wanted to examine us for head injuries. "Let's go!"

"Guess we need to round up everyone." Joshua laughed and gently led Natasha out of the tent too. "Though, do you want to head to sleep, Natasha, or join in?"

"I… uh…" Natasha began, stammering a little. Joshua simply continued to escort her. "I wouldn't mind listening, I suppose?"

As they disappeared, I continued to stare in shock over… all of it. It didn't seem quite real. I even reached up to pinch my cheek, the sharp pain confirming that this wasn't a dream. I burst into giggles at that, just… giddy. Giddy that Vanessa wouldn't die. I… I _did_ manage to get her back in time. It didn't change how it was my fault that she'd been injured in the first place, but I hadn't killed her. She was still alive.

Still giggling, I stepped out of the tent, intending on following the others. As soon as I did, though, I stiffened as a strange feeling of 'being watched' washed over me, and I turned, trying to figure out just what. In the distance, I thought, _thought_ , I saw a wyvern, or the shadow of a wyvern, but I wasn't sure. I could just be paranoid, considering everything.

But it didn't change this feeling.

"Emma, come on!" Eirika called, dragging my attention from what I _might_ have seen. I glanced over my shoulder to see her holding out her hand, urging me to join her and the others. She had waited for me. "You made the mistake of revealing you're a good singer! Now you're stuck singing for all of us!"

"Fine, fine, I give," I 'complained', heading over. The feeling of 'being watched' remained, but it didn't seem quite so prevalent. Maybe I really was just paranoid. "But you're going to sing with me, princess. I know damn well _you're_ a good singer too. Orson ratted you out."

"Darn." She laughed, though, and seemed livelier than I'd ever seen. "Oh, well. Let's have a bit of fun."

Our little group actually sang until the moon was high in the sky, cycling through all sorts of songs from the various countries. The adults even gave us some lessons about the songs, and it felt fun, like some sort of strange festival, despite the fact that we were _literally_ in enemy territory.

Maybe the fear had snapped our sanity. But maybe that was okay.

* * *

 _Notes on songs:_

 _Renais and Frelia both favor 'story-songs', often dictating folk tales or even bits of history. As a result, the songs are varied, from chipper to mournful. They also feature the most tavern songs, surprisingly enough._

 _Rausten and Grado have very 'serious' songs, ballads and weaving melodies. Rausten is the home to most church hymns, including everything from blessed tales of Latona and warnings against things like 'reviving the dead'. Grado features 'opera', whatever that is, and it's apparently Very popular._

 _Carcino songs tend to be very repetitive, more to pass time while traveling than anything. Phrases and verses cycle often within a single song, and actually inspired the phrase 'second verse, same as the first'._

 _Jehanna has the most varied of songs, however, partially from 'stealing' songs from other countries as a result of mercenary work, and partially because Jehannans believe every single god has a preferred type of music, and they happily oblige with writing, and singing, all of them. Prayer Songs are kept particularly close to their hearts, though, rarely taught to anyone outside of Jehanna, and every Jehannan knows at least three different ones, if not more._

* * *

Author's notes: And have the chapter where Eirika kindly reminds everyone to beware the nice ones. And some introspection for Emma. And some hints to Joshua's past. And a bit of worldbuilding fun. Susinum is an actual perfume, one very prized in Ancient Egypt (perfumes were one of their major trade products iirc). Emma's final attack against the Bael (giant spider) is based off of Ephraim's critical animation, since her fighting style is similar to his (as Seth states in the first interlude chapter). Bael's have 'poison claws' as their weapon, but since they're spiders, I made it their actual bite venomous instead, and just had their claws be sharp.

Next Chapter - Interlude, To the Skies


	9. Interlude - To the Skies

Interlude - To the Skies

* * *

 _We move deeper into Grado, far from nearby villages, to rest and recover. Vanessa's injury was the worst of it, but that didn't mean the rest of us weren't hurting too. We're not far from Renvall, so it's especially important that we rest. Once there, we'll be fighting for our lives, and ideally, the life of Prince Ephraim._

 _Orson… I hope I see you soon._

* * *

"I brought breakfast!" I called, stepping into the tent Vanessa was in. Like typical, she was asleep. Since her injuries had been so deep, Moulder and Natasha had to do a slow-deep healing, different than what they'd do, say, on a battlefield. It increased her chances of healing without complications, but it drained her more. "I'll set it up by her bed." As such, I'd taken to making sure all the meals were things easy to eat, and things that could be eaten at any time.

"You're as regular as the sun, Emma," Moulder gently teased. He took over watching Vanessa in the morning, while Natasha took over evenings. "Dare I hope you brought some for Artur and me as well?"

"You know I did." I pouted at him, before smiling again and bringing the food over. Artur already had cleared the table he and Moulder sat at. "But maybe I'll withhold your favorite apple pancakes."

"Please don't." Moulder laughed, knowing full well that I wouldn't withhold anything from him. "I'm still amazed you and Neimi can make pancakes on a campfire."

"It's easy, once you burn one or twelve." I grinned, and set the plates down. "How goes the lesson today?"

"I've managed to actually make the staff glow today," Artur happily told me. Moulder had taken to giving Artur healing lessons, mostly because Artur had watched Moulder heal Vanessa with such fascination. "It was very hard, so different from light magic."

"But you do have a strong potential," Moulder reassured. He happily tucked into the pancakes. I had no idea _why_ he loved them so much, but he did. "It'll take quite a bit more practice, since you do not have a knack for it as you do light magic, but you can heal in time."

"I look forward to it." Artur smiled sweetly as he also began eating. "You and Natasha need the help, it seems."

"You're a kind lad." Moulder smiled up at me. "And you, my dear, are an excellent cook."

"Pancakes aren't hard," I replied with a shrug. I checked that the plate of food for Vanessa was covered, and smiled again at them. "I'll be off, then, unless you need help?"

"Not today, my dear," Moulder replied. He waved me off. "Perhaps Natasha will."

"She normally does." Though, I wondered if she just made work for me since she knew I wanted, needed, to do _something_. "Don't overwork!"

I stepped out of the tent, and back into the camp proper. It was a quiet this morning, but there was a cheer to the air, somehow. Garcia and Ross trained in an open patch not far from the tents, with Joshua and Eirika sparring close by and Natasha watching over the pairs worriedly. Neimi tended to her bow by the campfire, while Colm appeared to be meditating, of all things, not far away. Franz and General Seth tended to the horses, talking about something that made Franz's eyes sparkle and General Seth look on with gentle amusement. Nearby, Gilliam seemed to be fixing some armor.

I frowned as I did a count, and came up with a 'missing' person quickly. Lute wasn't anywhere in sight.

I first went to check the tent she normally would've shared with Vanessa, wondering if she was deep in books again. But that tent was empty. I checked the supplies tent, wondering if she was doing inventory or studying where no one would find her. But that tent was empty. I then checked Artur's tent, since the two were childhood friends. But _that_ tent was empty. Worried by this point, I ended up checking all the tents, just trying to figure out where she was. But they were empty. Lute wasn't in any of the tents, and I couldn't see her around the campfire.

"Where _is_ she?" I whispered to myself, trying to ward off panic. No one else seemed to be worried, but then again, Lute was often aloof. Would they have noticed? "Lute…" The back of my neck prickled, and I jerked my head up, feeling like I was being watched. I turned slowly, looking at the air, wondering if I'd see a wyvern again, like I had the last time I'd felt 'watched', but this time, I didn't see much of anything. The shadow of a wing, maybe, but mostly clouds.

But that feeling of 'being watched' didn't go away, and I brought my gaze down to look around slowly. I found the source instant, and found the missing Lute while I was at it. She was behind me, staring. Just. Staring.

"Did you need something?" I asked her. She didn't answer. Just stared. "Lute? If you're trying to play hide and seek, you lost. What do you need?"

"I'm watching you," she finally said. She pulled out a little book and pencil and jotted something down. "Please, just continue on."

"...Why are you watching me?"

"I am trying to determine how someone is so lucky yet unlucky at the same time." Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her book. I had a feeling that I didn't want to take a look at it, for my own comfort. "You survive far more than logic and probability dictate, and yet, you get into those situations in the first place."

"Really, now?" My voice went as dry as it possibly could, and I looked around again, this time for a distraction. Unfortunately, though, we were at the border of our camp, on the other side of the 'practice area', so it was just us too. "I hadn't noticed."

"You haven't? I suppose it can be difficult to maintain bias when you are living it." She… didn't catch the sarcasm. "You are the only survivor of your family after a series of unfortunate events-"

"Not _sole_. I have my brother-in-law." Orson wasn't confirmed dead _yet_.

"Almost only." She scratched something out and wrote something over it. She really had been making notes on me. "Father died from protecting the king. Mother died in flood. Friends died from pneumonia. Sister died from illness. Village torched."

"Yes, I think I'm well aware of this." It wasn't like I wasn't reminded of those facts every single day.

"But, you survived. The pneumonia and village are particularly notable incidents considering how much danger you were in." She frowned, tapping her pencil against her cheek. "You are an anomaly. You are unluckily luck. It makes no logical sense." Her eyes narrowed. "I have been attempting to observe, but the mystery becomes denser with each observation. You simply exist, and the laws of probability bend."

"I… that's great, Lute?" I really had no idea how to react. "I'm very glad that you're confused. Or, wait, should I be sorry? You seem happy about it."

"I like learning." She tilted her head, almost like a cat. "I wonder how I can perform an experiment for this."

"...Well, this has been a lovely conversation, but the topic has now become thoroughly distressing, and I think I'll be going now." I bolted back into camp, half afraid she'd throw lightning at me in an attempt to see if my 'weird luck' would kick in.

So, I was going to avoid Lute for a while. No offense to her. Or maybe full offense. Whichever.

* * *

I spent a lot of time 'conveniently' tidying up my tent and checking the supplies before darting over to Natasha to ask what she needed today. She seemed to sense that I _really_ needed to get away from camp, and tasked me with going to the river to collect some herbs and gather some water. I wasn't allowed to go far, which was fine by me. I had no intentions of being alone in enemy territory.

"Is this dill or fennel?" I whispered, frowning at some herb I'd found. I could never tell the difference between the two, sadly. "Meh, I'll take it anyway." I plucked it and laid it in my basket, continuing down the riverbank, keeping an eye on anything that caught my eye. Natasha had specifically asked for me to look for mint, since some apparently grew on riverbanks, but I was more collecting anything that looked good. It probably wasn't that smart of an idea, but it was just so relaxing. I felt like I was back home, looking for herbs and flowers to surprise Monica with. I'd done that a lot, especially as the sickness made it harder for her to leave the house.

I paused at the thought of flowers, and looked at the river, wondering if I should get some flowers for Vanessa. I laughed when I noticed some beautiful water lilies, and set my basket down on ground. I tied up my skirt above my knee, slipped off my boots, and carefully waded into the water. I laughed a bit as the moss from the rocks tickled my feet. Monica had always hated how it felt, but I had always laughed. Orson had always warned me of how slippery the rocks became, but these rocks seemed fine, and the worst that would happen was that I'd-

I slipped. I let my focus waver and I slipped, falling hard on my right side with a splash. I rolled a bit, trying to get my feet under me, and then discovered something I had even paid attention to: the river got _way_ deep, _way_ fast, and I'd rolled into the deep area.

I yelped as the current snagged me and I tried to scrabble over the rocks I passed, desperate to get a good grip. But the rocks were too slippery, and I couldn't catch any sort of purchase. I tried to snag some plants, but either they slipped through my fingers, or snapped outright. At some point, my focus switched from trying to stop myself to just trying to keep my head above the water as the current carried me further down the river.

At one point, I went under. The current swung me around a bend and I went under the water, trapped in horribly deep murkiness. I couldn't tell which way was up. I flailed, kicking and twisting as I tried to figure out where air was, and tried to not focus on how much my lungs burned and my chest ached. In a sudden burst of inspiration, though, I _made_ myself stop panicking, thinking of some mental exercises General Seth recommended for not freezing while fighting, and held myself as still as I could. In an instant, I felt myself float 'down', which told me that I'd likely got myself twisted and mostly upside down. I righted myself and swam upward, pushing through with all the strength I had. I nearly cried as I saw a small glimmer of light before I surfaced with a gasp and a bunch of coughing.

But then the current snagged me again, and I was back to fighting to keep my head above water. _This_ time, though, I managed to snag a rock, wincing as my nails chipped and my fingertips scraped across the surface. But I held on tightly and slowly dragged myself onto it, still coughing and gasping, shaking the water from my face before I half-collapsed, fighting back sobs as the panic and fear surged through me again. I settled for more coughing and gasping before sitting down and focusing on breathing. In and out. Deep and easy. Even.

As I did, I took stock of just… how I was. My clothes were waterlogged and stained badly with mud. Mud streaked my skin and wet leaves clung to my prickling, itchy skin. I had bruises and scrapes all up my legs and arms. My hair was a tangled mess of knots, horribly stringy, with clumps of mud and twigs stuck in it. My eyes burned and teared up. My chest hurt. My fingers stung and palm. But I was alive. I was a… a terrible mess, and I had no idea where I was, but I was alive. Somehow.

When my breathing had calmed, I looked around, hoping that I'd find some path to the shore. Thankfully, I did, and I tried to stand to jump to the next rock. My legs gave out on me, though, and I crashed to my knees, whimpering as the jar reminded my body of bruises. I studied the little path to the shore and, slowly, just decided to crawl. Stones and dirt dug into my palms and knees, and I nearly slipped and fell into the water again. I tensed and fought off my panic as I made myself move forward, holding off my whimpers and yelps until I was safely on the muddy shore. Then I sat hard on the ground and hugged myself as I began shaking, the reality of my situation crashing in on me.

I nearly drowned. I nearly drowned, and I was far from camp. No one knew what had happened. I had no idea how far down the river I'd even gone. Logically, it couldn't be far, but hell if I _actually_ knew.

The sound of branches and bushes rustling made me groan, and I glowered at where I could see the noise, just so _done_ now. It wasn't enough I nearly drowned. Something else just _had_ to happen right now. Of course, I still nearly yelped when a freaking _wyvern_ step out. It was a very beautiful one, truthfully, with pale grey scales, so pale that at first glance I thought they were actually white, and sharp gold eyes that studied me closely. It moved with a strange sort of grace, almost cat like, and its claws shone silver in the dappled sunlight.

"...Oh, this is just great," I noted dryly, unable to help it. "I survived being devoured by a river, only to be eaten by a wyvern. Awesome."

"Wyverns don't eat people." The voice caused me to yelp and I nearly fell into the river again. "Ah, I beg your pardon, miss." The owner of the voice stepped out, revealing a rather handsome man somewhere around General Seth's age, maybe a bit younger. "I did not mean to startle you," he continued, smiling softly. It faded to worry as he got a look at me. "You… look as if the river didn't agree with you."

"I think I more look like the river tried to eat me, before deciding I was too ornery or something and spat me back up," I replied. Then I paused and laughed at myself. "Right, yeah, who says 'ornery' anymore?"

"Some oldsters, last I heard." He grinned and I rolled my eyes. "Regardless, you're injured and soaked. Would you like assistance?"

"...If you have bandages, or a towel, I'll take them, but…" I pointed to my leg for emphasis. "No offense, but some of these scrapes go pretty high up, and I'm not so bad off that I'm willing to let a strange man palm my thighs to bandage me."

"Right." He actually went a bit red and coughed awkwardly. "Well, I definitely have both. I'll toss them to you." He whistled and another wyvern pushed through the trees, this one with light red scales, almost like fire. Unlike the first, this one was saddled, and he quickly went through the packs dangling from said saddle, tossing me a towel and a little first aid kit. "How did you end up in the river anyway? This is a dangerous river to practice swimming in. It's deceptive in how deep and strong it is, and the rocks are very slippery."

"You don't need to tell me twice." I hesitantly took the towel and tried to mop up the worst of the water before switching to cleaning and bandaging the injuries I could see. "Your towel is ruined."

"That's fine." Amusedly, he fussed over the wyverns while I bandaged myself, giving me as much privacy as he could, without outright leaving. "But seriously, why were you in the river?"

"How else? I fell." As I treated my injuries, and saw the extent of the scrapes and scratches, and all the mottled bruises, I found myself very glad that I hadn't worn armor. If I had, I might've just gone under and never come up again. "Why are you here, though?"

"I was tasked with overseeing the capture of Princess Eirika and the execution of a traitor in Serafew, but then was asked to try and deal with a suddenly temperamental wyvern, who _had_ been getting training on the border, but started flying away from the trainers." He said the words casually, but panic flooded me at them. I couldn't _believe_ it took me that long to realize that I had to be chatting with a Grado soldier, and even worse, he was apparently high ranked enough to be tasked with something so _important_. "This girl has been flying off in this direction ever since, and only lets me near when I make it clear I'm not going to stop her." He scratched the pale-grey wyvern behind the eye-ridge area, and it made a strange little noise that _almost_ sounded like a cat's purr, but not. "I guess she caught sight of you then and has been trying to follow."

"...What do you mean?" I finished bandaging myself up and tried to stand. My legs refused to move, though, so I just shifted to face the man and the wyverns, trying to figure out if I actually knew how this was. "Why me?"

"Well, that's the only reason I can think of for her abandoning the trainers and coming to a very out of the way area. We're not far from Renvall." He looked at me and smiled. "She's finally in a good mood, too. So, my guess is that she picked you as her rider."

"She… what." I now sincerely wondered if I hit my head and was having a very odd hallucination dream thing. "What do you mean she _picked_ me?"

"Wyverns choose their riders. They look at humans, peer into their hearts, and judges their souls. They choose riders whose souls they love and resonate with."

"Wow, then Valter's wyvern must be _really_ messed up in the head." I… needed to shut up. I really did. This was just so bizarre.

"Much as I dislike the man, I regretfully must point out that he was not always mad, though he was never a gentle lamb." His face twisted like he'd bitten into a sour lemon, and he said the words so slowly, like he had to fight to say them at all. "His wyvern bonded to him then, and now remains. Perhaps in the hope that his rider will one day return to how he was."

"...Sounds stupid to me."

"Well, I can understand the theory behind it. I, too, remain with the army in the hopes that someone I love and respected will somehow regain his mind."

"...You're talking about Emperor Vigarde." I frowned as I realized something. I… might be able to get information for Eirika. This whole circumstance was bizarre, but maybe I could take advantage of it. "What the hell even happened?"

"No one knows. He collapsed one day, and then afterwards, he… changed." He shrugged, looking almost a little helpless. "The Emperor Vigarde I served adored Renais. He considered King Fado his best friend, the person he trusted most, and he took such delight in watching Prince Lyon, Prince Ephraim, and Princess Eirika play. He had even talked of how he hoped Prince Lyon and Princess Eirika would court." He looked to the ground. "But now, those days are gone. Renais has been ravaged, on my Emperor's orders. Prince Ephraim was last seen killing Grado soldiers. Princess Eirika seeks the border to find her brother. And Prince Lyon looks on the edge of tears, and whispers apologies to any who come close, when he is not following in his father's shadow." He looked up again, smiling bitterly. "So, if you're in Grado because you've accepted a contract, I'd highly suggested getting out of it."

I almost asked what he meant by 'contract', but figured it out quickly. He'd seen the Jehannan red hair and eyes, and automatically assumed I was a mercenary, either out on a job or looking for work. Some part of me felt a little insulted at being so casually stereotyped, but it worked to my advantage for now. It was probably why I wasn't being attacked on sight.

Then I realized something else. He was high enough ranked to speak on friendly terms with Emperor Vigarde. He was a wyvern knight of Grado. Blonde haired and handsome… this was General Glen the Sunstone, practically the poster boy for the Grado Army, famous alongside his brother, Cormag, even in Renais. He was the second-longest serving general, behind only General Duessel, and was well loved by all his soldiers.

I was talking to yet another Grado General. Holy dear gods above, what the hell was with my _life_?

Something loomed over me, and half a second later, something licked my cheek. I squeaked, startled, and found myself face to face with the pale-grey wyvern. "Did… did you just lick me?" I asked. It, she?, gave me a weird look and then nuzzled my temple. "You did. Is that normal?"

"Well, it's not unusual for them to be like that with their riders, particularly when they click so quickly," General Glen answered. He leaned against his own wyvern, looking entirely too amused. "Others take longer. Cormag's wyvern, Genarog, took three years to warm up to him. Mine…" He reached up and scratched his wyvern under the chin, its eyes narrowing in bliss. "Mine was like yours, three seconds."

"Well, either your wyvern really liked your soul, or it decided pretty quickly that you were better than nothing."

"You have a very sharp tongue." His laugh, however, said that he didn't mind my half-hearted, accidental barbs. Which was good, because the guy could probably kill me. "That can be said for you as well, you know."

"You said she chased after me, so clearly, she thought I was worth the time." Hesitantly, I copied his movement, scratching the pale-grey wyvern under the chin, and… she… seemed to like it. She also scooted a little closer and wrapped her wing around me. "...Why does she like _me_?"

"Who can say? I've always been taught that it's a resonance sort of thing. They see something they find so familiar that they leap at it." General Glen's cheer faded a bit. "I'm glad she's found a rider she likes. She's been through a lot, that one. Lost her parents and siblings in a series of freak accidents over the past few years. Well, most of them. Genarog is one of the two she has left."

"Who's the other?" I studied her face, and thought I recognized the loneliness in her eyes. I _felt_ that loneliness. Maybe that was why she liked me.

"Valter's Evaicrag."

Well, that sucked. "Do _all_ wyverns have weird, convoluted names?"

"Not all. We reach into a hat with names and choose that way." He said the words so seriously that I almost believed him. His sudden smirk gave him away. "More seriously, we name them after famous heroes typically, and none are named until they pick a rider. You'll be responsible for hers." He pointed to the wyvern curled up around me. "You may, of course, pick whatever you want for her." His smirk faded for a thoughtful look. "Hmm… how are we going to deal with this, though? Normally, you'd be obligated to sign on with the army, but I don't want to drag anyone into _that_ mess right now. Where's the rest of your group?"

"They're… somewhere?" Panic flooded me again. He could _not_ end up anywhere near my group. He was supposed to capture Eirika, and I doubted he'd be nearly so polite with me if he thought I was anything but a lost mercenary. "I'll be fine."

"You're injured and shaken, and now dealing with an admittedly strange circumstance." General Glen shook his head. "I'd be worried leaving you alone."

"That better not be the start of a pick up line." Miracle of miracles, _Joshua_ stepped out from behind some trees. "Because if it is, I might have to duel you," he teased, lazy smile almost hiding how one hand hovered over his sword. "Big brother thing. You must understand."

"I suppose," General Glen replied, shrugging. His eyes narrowed slightly before he relaxed, smiling. "Siblings mercenaries?"

"It's not an uncommon thing, given Jehanna. Petal here was gathering some herbs and had the bad manners to disappear." Joshua moved to my side, eyeing the pale-grey wyvern warily, and ruffled my tangled hair. Only the slight shake in his hand as he did so betrayed how worried he'd been. "I'll take her back to our group, though. Erina is horribly worried."

"Erina?" General Glen's smile widened. "Ah, I know the name. Then this girl must be Emma. Selena mentioned she had hired a mercenary pair to protect some villages in Renais from bandits."

"You may tell her the job was completed with a flourish. The bandit stronghold was wiped out." Joshua's demeanor never faded, and he remained perfectly relaxed. "Things got hectic on the way, though, so we swung way south to avoid fighting."

"In that case, Renvall isn't where you want to go. Valter was there not long ago, attempting to bait out Prince Ephraim. His attempts so far have failed, but the fighting is no doubt going to resume before long. There's a hint that Princess Eirika is heading for Renvall, so Prince Ephraim will be attacking it before long. He might have already." General Glen shrugged. "I'd suggest heading back towards the border and skirting along it."

"We'll keep it in mind." Joshua's smile was warm, yet there was something distinctly threatening about it. "But we really need to get going."

"And _I_ need to make up some sort of lie about our lovely wyvern here." General Glen paused, as if something just occurred to him. "You'll need a saddle. Well, you can use mine. I can ride bareback, and I've extra packs. I'll need to come up with a lie for that one, but that won't be as hard." He nodded to himself. "Let me get you set up."

"That's… generous." Joshua glanced down at me with a 'what the everloving hell?' look and I shrugged, completely helpless. I had no more idea of what was going on than he did. "Very generous."

"It's thanks for giving me a convenient excuse to head back to the capital instead of continuing with the hunt for Princess Eirika and that traitor. Something is just wrong with all of this." He grinned, though, and I just couldn't help but have the feeling that he was using _that_ as an excuse. He was just excited to help out a 'new wyvern rider'. "Give me a moment. It won't take long." General Glen went about with… whatever he was doing, and Joshua looked over, watching the preparations. I just stayed where I was, just very, _very_ done with the day.

'Unluckily lucky', Lute had said. That was stupidly, _stupidly_ accurate.

* * *

"You have to be the only, _the only_ , person I know that could meet up with three, _three_ , enemy generals, and come out on top." The latest of strange events had led to an even stranger one; General Seth was actually ranting. "You hit the first in the face with a burning log," he complained, facepalming. He _had_ been pacing, but he gave up to just sit by the fire with the rest of us. "You got the second to _pay_ you for a mercenary job, and the third _gave you a wyvern_."

"I am aware that this is all super weird, and I am awaiting when life decides to punch me in the gut again," I deadpanned, wincing as Eirika caught a particularly bad tangle. She had insisted on brushing out my hair again after I'd taken a bath. "I'm sure it'll be soon. That tends to be what happens." The last time I got 'this' lucky, all my friends had died from the pneumonia that I managed to survive. "I almost want to point out that I only got into that situation in the first place because I slipped and fell into the river, and nearly drowned." I didn't even need to look to know Lute was penciling all of that down in her little notebook. "So…"

"So, you nearly drowned and got a _wyvern_." General Seth looked at where she was curled up behind Eirika and me for emphasis, and she lazily looked up with a 'your point, little man?' expression before licking my cheek and nuzzling Eirika's and then laying back down. I was distinctly amused that 'my' wyvern, which was a very weird phrase, liked Eirika almost as much as she liked me, and barely tolerated everyone else. "You nearly drown, and come out of the situation with a wyvern."

"That I don't know how to ride. Or have _any_ training with." General Glen had given me a crash course, but honestly, I wasn't even sure how to buckle the damn saddle. It wasn't like a horse's, though riding the wyvern had been strangely similar to riding a pegasus. Except not, and that had thrown me off so much.

"Vanessa has already volunteered to teach you as best as she can once she recovers," Moulder helpfully informed all of us. He sipped some tea Franz had made for everyone, and seemed perfectly relaxed in the wake of everything. I wondered if Colm was the only one who could make his calm crack. "Which means that they can start tomorrow. She'll be able to walk then, though she'll still have to rest."

"Then we have multiple bits of good news," Gilliam pointed out. He didn't smile, but you did get the sense he was pleased. "Vanessa will be well, we have another flier so that Vanessa never has to be the sole rescuer again, Emma didn't die from the river or the general, and we got information from a reliable source."

"I'm particularly impressed by the last one."

"It's only because he thought I was a mercenary," I reminded everyone. I pointed to Joshua. "And if not for his convenient finding me, I probably would've been stuck going with him or something. Thank you, 'brother'."

"It wasn't _that_ convenient, petal," Joshua said with a small grin. He sat at Natasha's feet by the fire, and Natasha gave me another guilty look. She had been _horrified_ when the full story came about. "Thanks to you leaving your basket and boots, I figured out what happened quickly, and I followed the river. The wyverns startled me, but hey, if you survive a river, you can survive a person."

"Instead of trying to figure out how Emma is still with us, can we not just be grateful and focus on other things?" Eirika asked. She moved to sit next to me, setting the brush to the side, and 'my' wyvern curled around us both. "We have confirmation that my brother is at Renvall, and fighting a Grado general, and we got a little more information about Emperor Vigarde." She frowned, eyes worried. "I… knew he was ill, but to think he collapsed…" She curled into herself a bit, and leaned her head on my shoulder. I glanced around the fire, and noted with amusement that Colm and Neimi were leaning against each other just across from me, and Artur had stolen Lute's notebook, keeping it away from her despite her silent attempts to retrieve it. "Lyon told me about it, whispering to not breath a word to anyone. It was an illness that baffled everyone, and no one could figure out a cure."

"...I remember the researchers in the temple being asked to look into a new illness," Natasha murmured. Her eyes unfocused, lost in the past. "It was kept quiet, but I remember the request. Prince Lyon would check in with them weekly, but there was no progress." Her eyes sharpened, back in the present. "I had simply assumed it was the prince's kindheartedness, but the sorrow in his eyes makes more sense if the afflicted was his father."

"Can an illness make a person go mad? You see it in old stories a lot…"

"That's typically just some convenient plot device. Some illness can accompany madness, but…" Natasha shrugged. "I do not know of a specific illness that causes actual madness. Perhaps if there was some brain damage, but a healer would've picked up that. From my understanding, this illness evaded everything."

"I see…" Eirika sighed and leaned more into me. "I'm not sure if that opens more questions or closes them."

"Does it matter right now?" Ross asked. He looked almost adorably confused. "I mean… we just gotta go save your brother, right? Why worry about the rest?" He squirmed as we all continued staring. "What?"

"I think we're all startled that you're being wise," Colm _instantly_ retorted, sparking a laugh out of the group. "But, and I didn't think I'd say this, but Ross is right. We're making things complicated, aren't we? Like trying to figure out how the hell Emma's alive."

"I'm so pleased to be so loved," I deadpanned, sparking another laugh. "Really."

"I'm not complaining. Just, you know… how do you get into these situations?"

"I'm in _this_ situation, and somehow not dead yet."

"Exactly!"

"Jehannans view red eyes, and red hair, as a sign of skilled warriors and a skilled at escaping death," Garcia laughed, reminding everyone of that particular little fact. He smiled slightly, and actually looked pointedly at General Seth, who still looked exasperated. "And, speaking of which, I don't think you have a right to complain. You survived the fall of Renais, fought a Grado General at disadvantage, escaped with Princess Eirika, and found the one person in all of Renais that would treat your resulting fever without panicking or asking too many questions." His smile widened into a grin. "That's not going into escapades you got into when you were younger. Didn't they write a song about-?"

"The Ride of the Crimson!" Franz supplied, eyes sparkling as he leaned forward eagerly. General Seth actually groaned, sparking a laugh from the group. "It's very popular in Renais!"

"I know that song," Joshua declared. He winked at me, eyes dancing mischievously. "Come on. It's a duet."

General Seth yelped, protested, and threatened drills, but that did nothing to stop Joshua and I from singing of General Seth's first famous adventure: saving his sister-in-law from bandits, alone, after they ambushed the wedding party, all starting from him stealing his brother's horse without telling a single person, hardly the proper behave for someone from a long line of knights. Everyone laughed at his expense, and when Joshua and I finished, Gilliam sang a song from Frelia, turning the evening into another one filled with songs and laughter.

My wyvern remained curled around me as I sang and laughed with everyone, perfectly content in everything. I'd… better come on with a name for her. Why was my life so weird?

* * *

Author's note: Emma promotion to wyvern rider complete. I'd originally planned for her to be a pegasus knight, but uh… realized that would make her far too similar to a couple of other characters, so instead, we're making her a wyvern rider. It gives an excuse to bring Glen in, and some more worldbuilding. There's nothing in game about wyverns picking their riders or 'seeing souls' or the like, but there is a bit of an implication, since Cormag mentions having to work to earn his Genarog's trust. Cormag's wyvern's name is revealed in his supports with Artur. Valter's is never given a name, so I gave him one. His not-always-been-psychotic is revealed in Duessel's supports with Cormag. There is absolutely no indication that Cormag's wyvern and Valter's are related; that was thrown in for sheer fun.

Lute observing Emma is born partially from her habit to 'monk-watch', and how she tends to get caught up in anything she finds fascinating. There's no mention of Seth having ballads about him in game; I just thought it would be hilarious for Seth to have been a very, very reckless teenager and it got immortalized in song so that he can never forget.

Next Chapter - Waterside Renvall


	10. Chapter 7) Waterside Renvall

Chapter 7) Waterside Renvall

* * *

 _We've made it to Renvall, gaining one last 'recruit' along the way, a wyvern. My wyvern. After talking with Eirika and Neimi, I decided to name her Brynhildr the Valkyrie, after a legendary queen of Renais, who famously prevented a war from breaking out between Frelia and Rausten centuries ago, among other things that make her a popular folk hero to this day. She seems to like the name, and tolerates Neimi more in appreciation for her help. And the food. Neimi loves feeding her._

 _But we're at Renvall. Prince Ephraim, Orson, Forde, and Kyle should be here, somewhere. It was time to rescue the idiot prince and his entourage. Yay._

* * *

"And there we are." Joshua tightened and secured the last buckle on the saddle around my legs. "That should hold you," he replied, stepping back. He reached over to scratch Brynhilder behind the eye-ridge, smiling as she 'not-purred' as we'd come to call the sound. "I think she's starting to tolerate me, petal."

"She must know you're my brother, brother," I replied. I'd fallen into the habit of teasingly nicknaming him 'brother', which he took in stride. His little smile hinted he liked it. "Alright… less chance of me falling from the saddle…"

"You and Vanessa are going to be surveying the battlefield, right?"

"Yeah. Vanessa's not quite recovered enough to fight, though she's cleared for flying and emergencies. We'll relay information down." I sat back in the saddle a bit and glanced worriedly over at where Vanessa was making her own preparations. Moulder tended to her, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was pushing herself too much. "And I don't need to explain why I'm not, you know, fighting." I'd only recently learned how to _stay on Brynhildr_ when she took off. I had progressed to even being able to keep hold of my lance! Just… everything else was off still.

It was different than riding a horse. You tamed a horse and taught it. But there was no 'taming' a wyvern, and even if she chose me to ride her, and even if she liked me, Brynhildr made it clear that she _let me_ ride. It was more like… having a partner fighting with me always. I wasn't really certain how to take the promise of such a 'constant' companion, when everyone else had disappeared. I couldn't wait to ask Orson. Actually, I couldn't wait to tell him. He was going to freak out _so_ badly.

"Oh, good, you're over here." Natasha, surprisingly, ran up then, looking almost flustered. She tripped over her feet even, but Joshua quickly caught her. "Ah, sorry," she murmured. She smiled slightly. "You're always having to catch me."

"It's because you get focused and forget to watch your feet, little miss," Joshua teased. He smiled warmly. "So, what caught your focus today?"

"Something for… actually, something for both of you." Her smile turned a little shy and she stepped a little closer to me, nodding respectfully to Brynhildr before passing me something small.

I took it carefully, and nearly gasped as I held it up to the light to see it properly. It was a woven… well, 'tapestry' was the only word I could think of, though that implied something far larger than the tiny thing that easily fit in the palm of my hand. 'Charm' might be a better word, as that's just what it felt like. A woven charm with white, red, and silver threads, forming a pattern I recognized as a symbol of the God-King of the Skies. On the back, though, was the symbol of the Queen-Goddess of the Dead. A careful look showed where the two sides had been stitched together with painstakingly small thread.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, smiling at it. I couldn't keep my eyes off it. "A charm?"

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. Her smile sweetened, and I glanced at her hands, noticing they were reddened, with a bandage here and there. She must've only recently finished this. "In Grado, wyvern riders are traditionally given a charm like this as a means of protection. Normally, the Sigil of the Skies is on both side, but you are not of the Grado Army, so I thought I'd invoke the love the Goddess of the Dead has for those with red eyes, and ask that she watch over you a little extra."

"It's amazing." I wasn't sure how protective it would actually be, but the fact that she had made me this, by hand? Even if it was probably more of a guilt-gift, considering I'd almost drowned fulfilling a request for her, I was touched. So touched that I hid my sudden urge to cry by tucking it into my pack, and buckling it down extra tightly to make sure it didn't fall. "I'll keep it near always."

"I'm glad." She giggled, flushing slightly, before pulling a similar one out of her pocket and presenting it to Joshua. "This is one made in thanks for watching out for me, and for saving Emma."

"I get a special one too?" Joshua asked, grinning. He whistled softly as he took it from her. I noticed his had reds too, but also blacks and golds. "I see the Queen of the Dead's symbol… and is this the one for the God of the Sun?"

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. She ducked her head now, flush darkening. "I… remember reading that Jehannans respected the God of the Sun, and would pray to him instead of one of the more battle-like Gods before a fight?"

"Yeah, we pray he'll blind our enemies to give us an advantage. Some of the more religious will wear his tokens into battle." Joshua's grin softened into a smile and he looped it around his sword belt. "There. Sword belt ornament. That's the proper place for a token lovingly made by such a beautiful lady."

"I-it's nothing too fancy!" She sounded so squeaky now. "But, I did… um…"

"I'm half-kidding, Natasha." His smile softened even further. "Sword belt ornaments like this are typically woven by non-mercenaries to give to mercenaries as tokens of appreciation and protection." He glanced at me just as I opened my mouth, so I chose not to point out that it wasn't just non-mercenaries who did that. It was also done a lot between lovers, or mercenary partners. "So, it was all true, but I did make the words a little more teasing than they needed to be."

"...One of these days, I'll just be able to take your teasing without a reaction." She huffed a little and Joshua was back to grinning. "I will."

"Then I'll just have to think of other ways to tease you! It'll be fun!"

"As amusing as watching you two is, I think the others are becoming serious," I interrupted, mostly for Natasha's sake. Joshua made a face while Natasha gave me a grateful look. "See? General Seth is in the middle of saying something."

"That brings us to our current problem in Renvall," General Seth was saying as the three… four… of us moved closer to the others. Everyone was armed and armored, holding themselves almost stiffly. "Renvall is surrounded by lakes, rivers, and mountains." He nodded to the nearby river for emphasis, and he didn't even need to point to the mountains. If not for the one behind us, we'd have a clear view of Renvall. "The only known entrance is the bridge to the main gate. There may be some sides ones, but the places is too guarded to safely send anyone, and even then, it would require strong swimmers."

"Of which, we don't really have," Joshua sighed. He casually waved when Neimi and Franz jumped, clearly not expecting him. "I don't fancy a swim in these waters anyway."

"Do Jehannans even know how to swim?" Ross asked. He looked genuinely curious. "It's all desert, right?"

"There's these things called 'oases' where we normally jumped headfirst, junior." He shrugged. "Besides, all the years of people trying to throw us in water thinking we'd drown teaches you quick, or, you know, you do actually drown. Which isn't fun. Ask Emma here."

"I _almost_ drowned," I protested instantly. " _Almost_." I tried to reach over and snatch his hat, but he leaned out of reach. "Grr…" Of course, my announce disappeared as soon as Brynhildr reached around and stole the hat with her teeth. "Brynhildr, you're the best!"

"Give me back my hat!" Joshua complained, trying to reach for it. Brynhildr, however, just sat up, letting the hat just dangle from her teeth, playfully swinging it away when he got close. "Petal!"

"Oh, Brynhildr, let him have it back," Eirika urged, stepping out of the group. She walked over and hand out her hand. "Please?" Brynhildr looked around a bit, and then, noticeably reluctant, she dropped the hat into her waiting hand. "Thank you." She handed the hat back to Joshua, who made a show of inspecting it before donning it again. "Why do you even wear that?"

"He'll tell a different story every time you ask," I instantly pointed out, cutting off Joshua's explanation. He gave me a sulky look, but then shrugged with a grin. "Jehannans are honest about everything but things they don't consider important. You can't lie with the sun in your eyes."

"Is… that a saying?"

"Jehannan one, yeah."

"Oh. I like it." She laughed a little but it faded quickly as she turned to face everyone. "This will be the most dangerous battle we've fought." Princess Eirika bowed suddenly to all of us. "I'm sorry for dragging you all into this. I thank you so much for your help, and if you do not mind lending me your aid one more time…"

"We're here for you, Princess Eirika," Franz declared. He smiled sweetly. "I'm sure we'll be fine. My brother is with Prince Ephraim, as are Kyle and Sir Orson. They'll be fine."

"Yes, the hour of your reunion is not far off," Moulder added. His smile was soft. "I'll have my staff, just in case."

As will I," Natasha murmured. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. "Oh, sacred light, guide and protect us…"

"We'll really need it, since this screams of a trap," Joshua sighed. He shrugged and winked, though. "Ah, well. Our luck is bound to turn around at some point, right?"

"Right, and we're with you all the way!" Ross cheered. He started bouncing on his toes, eyes glinting in eagerness. "Ready or not, Renvall, here we come!"

"Easy, Ross," Garia chided. He rested a hand on Ross's shoulder to calm him. "A true warrior remain calm in battle. Look to Gilliam as an example."

"I simply see nothing to discuss, Garcia," Gilliam protested. As always, his expression was stoic and stern. "It's time to fight."

"Very true," Vanessa agreed. She swung up on her pegasus and smiled slightly. "We're yours to command, Princess Eirika."

"I'll work on stealing some of their valuable and information," Colm volunteered. He smirked slightly. "I'm definitely the man for that. Might get something good."

"And I'll do what I can to protect everyone with my arrows," Neimi offered. Her eyes wavered, like she was about to cry, but her smile was kind. "I'll be fine. I'm with everyone."

"And together, we are a rather strong group," Artur added. He closed his eyes. "So, do not falter, Princess Eirika. We are here for you, just as you are here for us."

"Besides, you can't be thinking you'll fight this without my genius," Lute scoffed. She sounded so serious that I had to fight back a laugh. "Let's deal with them, so I can get back to my studying."

"See, this is why you just push forward, Eirika," I deadpanned, smiling at her to soften the words. "A leader is supposed to trust herself, right? So, go for it. These are just men. We've literally fought monsters."

"She's right, your highness," General Seth murmured. He smiled as Eirika finally straightened. "We're prepared for battle."

"...Then, let us go to battle," Eirika whispered. She smiled at us all, though she also looked ready to cry. "To Renvall, everyone! We'll capture it in record time!"

We all cheered, since it seemed appropriate, and surged forward. Brynhildr's muscles bunched up under my legs before she launched herself up into the air, the wind blasting me almost like a slap or knife. But from the air, I had a perfect view of the field.

To Renvall… to Orson and the others… we had to succeed. We had to.

* * *

I had no idea if I was thankful for the swiftness of the river or not. On the one hand, the blood that dripped in didn't linger. On the other hand, it also took the corpses that fell in off too, and battered the bodies on the rocks, which almost seemed worse. I mostly chose not to look at the river. I had to make sure Ross didn't drown in the lake, after all.

"I still can't believe he's doing this," I muttered, tapping Brynhildr's side to tell her which direction to veer towards so that I could keep Ross in sight. Ross had the 'brilliant' idea of simply swimming the lake to go around the mountain. With Vanessa landing to rest a bit, that left it to me to make sure Ross didn't drown or get shot. "Points for enthusiasm, I suppose." Brynhildr growled something that I thought might've been exasperation. "Yes, I know." I was talking with a wyvern. I was over a battlefield, riding a wyvern, and talking to her. _Nothing about that sentence made sense_.

Sighing, I shook my head and, after checking to make sure Ross was still swimming, I studied Castle Renvall itself. From up here, I thought it was actually _way_ more vulnerable by the air. If I were a little more reckless, I could just swoop down into the courtyard and if I came from behind, I'd likely even be able to get in. I thought that might be because the only other country with fliers was Frelia, so they didn't bother with aerial defenses. My eyes narrowed when I noticed just how freaking _large_ the windows were, though. You could fit a horse through them, if they could…

I paused, looking down at Brynhildr, and then back at the windows. They were probably large so that wyverns could swoop in for a quick defense. That was my best guess, at least.

"Still, I wonder if I should volunteer to drop someone there," I murmured. I squeaked, though, as Brynhildr tensed under me. I jerked my head down, worried that Ross was in trouble, but he'd actually climbed up onto the shore just fine, and Brynhildr actually turned towards the nearby woods. I wondered why, but then I caught a flicker of movement among the trees. "Ross!" I leaned over the saddle to look at him. "Don't go too far ahead! I need to check something!" He waved to let me know he'd heard, and I urged Brynhildr to land near the woods.

I unbuckled myself from the saddle and slipped off, taking my lance as I carefully approached the area where I thought I'd seen the movement. Brynhildr moved slowly next to me, one wing wrapped around me protectively. She growled lowly, lowering herself down as we approached a certain tree.

"So, someone's there, Brynhildr?" I asked. She growled in reply. "Well, in that case, you might as well come out. Otherwise, I'm going to ask her to drag you, and I don't think your limbs would appreciate it."

"...You're no Grado soldier if you're being this polite." Someone stepped out then, a man wearing some armor subtle in how expensive it was. His demeanor was relaxed, but his hand hovered near the tree, likely where he had a weapon hidden. "...Yeah, you're definitely not," he continued softly. He reached up to tug his hood a little more forward, though, hiding his face and hair. "I'd say mercenary, but if you are, you're not in Grado's employ. But you have a wyvern..."

"Are you going to keep talking about nonsense or explain what you're doing here?" I kept my lance at my side, and leaned against Brynhildr. "There's a battle going on."

"That's why, actually. I'm trying to determine who is attacking Renvall." I caught the brief bit of a wry smile on his face. "If you listen to rumors, it's just Prince Ephraim."

"Yeah, well…" My eyes narrowed. "You're no Grado soldier yourself, are you?"

"Nope. Farthest thing from it."

"No interest in earning yourself some coin by joining with them?"

"Coin isn't really something I think of."

"...Then who the hell are you?" I tensed, and Brynhildr growled, reacting to me. The man took a step back and to the side, half behind the tree. "You're no mercenary if you think something like that. A mercenary knows how important money is, because it's the difference between starvation and keeping yourself afloat. Someone who says something like _that_ is definitely a rich brat who has never had to budget or barter. Just bought whatever caught their fancy without any regard to how others wouldn't be able to afford it in their wildest dreams."

"That's a rather scathing review of a person you barely know."

"If you want _scathing_ , I can certainly give you one. But I think my Brynhildr wants a piece of your hide instead." She growled again, lowering herself even further. "Now, who are you? You're no Grado soldier, and you're no mercenary. The child of a noble who thought he'd play at war?"

"I'm not playing."

"Then your family better be dead, because being this damn close to Renvall is probably killing them from worry."

"I'm trying to buy them time to escape."

"They're not going to escape if they're fretting themselves to illness. Gods, you're as stupid as Prince Ephraim if you think like that." I rolled my eyes, and only barely noticed how he'd tensed. "Not being there for his people, probably doesn't even know his dad is dead because he had to stay to calm the people instead of evacuating, or how much Eirika's bawled and nearly made herself sick from worry." I couldn't help but grumble, just pissed off now. "You want to know who's fighting? It's her. Eirika, I mean. Because her stupid brother is apparently here, or near here, and she freaked out and came running here because she's so damn scared by the possibility of him dying that she all but runs into a trap."

"... _She's_ here?" The man had stilled, his posture stiff. "Why…? She's known for her peaceful…"

"Sorry to break it to you, mister, but we're at war. You pick up a weapon or you die, and it's not a game where you get to determine who gets involved and who doesn't. War taints everything." I rolled my eyes and climbed back onto Brynhildr, buckling myself in again. "Whatever. If you can't figure that much out, then there's no way you're a threat. Try to stay away from Renvall, though, and get back to your family. It hurts to lose people. I don't want your family to deal with that because you're an idiot."

I urged Brynhildr to take off, and she did so after growling at the man one more time. I tried not to curse as I realized I didn't buckle myself in tightly enough and slammed into the back of the saddle. Thankfully, it was one with a high front and back, likely to minimize the chances of slipping off and falling to your death, so I was just a little bruised. As Brynhildr took us above the clouds, I glanced down to see if that man was still around, but it was impossible to see him among the leaves, so instead, I turned my attention back to the battlefield. While I'd been talking to that man, it seemed like everyone had broken through the front lines and made it past the bridge, so instead I had Brynhildr fly for that courtyard I'd noticed earlier and land next to the horses. I unbuckled myself and dismounted, taking my lance and quickly catching up with the others as they headed on in. Garcia and Gilliam gave me curious looks, but nodded when I shook my head and let me continue on. I patted Ross on the shoulder as I passed him, noticing there was blood among the water dripping off his face, but not commenting.

A sudden yelp of surprise up front, though, made me lunge and swing around a corner, expecting Eirika to be under assault from an ambush or something. Instead, though… Instead, though, I saw Orson. Orson in front of a smiling Eirika and a grim, yet relieved, General Seth. Talking to them even. Haggard. His looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in a while. Maybe a bit dazed. But alive. He was alive. He was alive and well, and oh gods… he was… he was…!

Thousands of thoughts screamed through my head, and I dropped my lance, too stunned and relieved to even attempt to operate my hands. The sound made the three of them jump, but Eirika's smile warmed when she saw me, and Orson… his jaw dropped. His jaw actually dropped.

"Emma?!" he yelped, pushing past Eirika to catch me in a hug. "Emma, what are you doing here?!" He sounded almost like his old self, ready to scold me for some stupid bit of recklessness. "You're supposed to be-"

"The village burned," I told him slowly. I knew this hug. I knew this warmth. Hell, I even knew the scent. Orson's clothes always smelled peppermint and lavender, because Monica _really_ hated when he came back from missions smelling of mud and sweat and threw bunches of sachets at him whenever he left to minimize the smell. "And I came out here to… t-to…" My voice cracked, and the tears I'd been holding back for six months burst. Unable to stop them, I sobbed and wailed, clinging to him tightly. "I was scared! I was so scared! It's just been fighting and killing and… and weird monsters and… and…!"

"...I'm here, Emma." Orson's hug tightened around me. "I'm here. Just cry. It's been a long few months." He kissed the top of my head. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." I managed a nod before just giving myself to the tears, letting out all the grief, fear, and frustration at long last.

I was safe. Orson was safe. In a few more hours, we'd all head back to Frelia, and everything would be well. It was safe. It was safe to cry again. Everything would be okay.

* * *

Next Chapter - Shattered Bond


	11. Chapter 8) Shattered Bond

Chapter 8) Shattered Bond

* * *

 _Orson is alive. Orson is alive! I'm not alone yet. He's alive. Ah, I could sing from happiness. Now we just need to find Prince Ephraim so that Eirika can be relieved too. Then everything will be just fine!_

* * *

While we snuck through the halls of Renvall, Orson made the mistake of asking me to tell him how the hell I got stuck in all of them. So I did, in all my brutal honesty, and the end result was him facepalming, and me in the best of moods I'd been in _months_.

"I am never leaving you alone again." Orson's grumbled echoed softly off the walls as we walked down the hall. I giggled, unable to help it, and he gave me an exasperated look. "I mean it," he warned. "Never again. You're always getting into trouble when someone isn't around to keep a proper eye on you."

"It's not my fault," I retorted, still smiling. My cheer would not falter from a simple scolding. "But yes, stay near please."

"You are the most troublesome little sister."

"But you love me."

"Yes, of course, but that doesn't mean you're not troublesome."

"Meanie!" I giggled again, and bit my lip to keep from outright laughing. Seth, Orson, Eirika, and I were a bit ahead of our group, and I couldn't wait to actually introduce Orson to everyone properly. I did my best to pay attention to our surroundings as we walked, even with my cheer. We were still in enemy territory after all, but it was hard not to be optimistic. Of course, a shadow outside a window worried me briefly, but when I paused, I noticed it was Brynhildr. She stopped at the window to peer at me, and when I smiled, she nodded and went back to flying. She was sticking close, just in case. I found that endearing.

I was rather liking having a wyvern, actually. Much more than I would've thought.

"Orson, if you do not mind me asking…" Seth began. He sounded a little hesitant, for some reason. "That is, if you are good with pausing catching up?"

"Of course, Seth," Orson replied, laughing a little. "I fear any more might give me a heart attack."

"You haven't had one yet?" Seth smiled slightly, but it soon fell. "How long have you been prisoner?"

"Feels like years, but it might only be a couple of weeks. We were defeated by General Valter, and placed into separate dungeons. We've been here since that day…" Orson frowned slightly. "Tell me, though. How fairs Renais? I find it hard to believe King Fado would give his permission for Princess Eirika to be so far from home."

"...Renais has fallen. King Fado is dead."

"I see…" Orson closed his eyes. "So falls a good king, and better man." He stopped walking to turn and bow to Eirika. "I'm sorry. I've served poorly."

"No, Orson, please, raise your head," Eirika urged. She smiled kindly at him as he did so. "That you still live is a comfort to my heart, and not just for my own sake either. Emma is such a dear friend now."

"I'm pleased to hear she has so kind a friend now," Orson replied. He reached over and patted my shoulder. "She needs them. As you've noticed, she gets into so much trouble when alone."

"It's not my fault!" I protested, flushing. I flushed darker when Eirika simply laughed. "You don't get to talk about getting into trouble, you!"

"And neither do you." He squeezed my shoulder, and I sulked at him. "Don't do that. It makes me feel guilty."

"Good." I sighed heavily. "Oh, whatever. Be mean. Or change the subject and be nice. I don't care."

"Well, I will change the subject," Eirika volunteered. However, her expression soon grew grave. "My brother… how is he?"

"He seemed well, if annoyed, last I saw him," Orson reassured. He smiled kindly, except… not. I found myself frowning. His smile… was off. "Muttered something about wishing he'd learned how to pick locks."

"That sounds like him." She smiled faintly. "And… did he still have his bracelet?"

"Yes, I believe so." Orson tilted his head curiously. "Why?"

"Grado is after them, you see."

"Why would they… ah, do they know of the trick behind the Sacred Stones?" Orson frowned as Eirika nodded, but I frowned for a different reason. It seemed… odd to me that Orson would make that leap so readily. He also didn't… seem very surprised. It was something about his eyes, really. They were darker than they should've been, closed off. "Princess Eirika, if I might make a suggestion?"

"Yes?"

"You should entrust your bracelet to someone you trust, like Seth. Or myself, if I may be so bold, but Seth is the better choice, to be honest." Orson shrugged. "So long as you wear the bracelet, you are a target, Princess Eirika. A far greater one. I urge you to entrust it to someone, for your own safety."

"I…" Eirika hesitated, glancing down at her bracelet. I watched Orson, feeling like something was wrong. The words were kind, sensible, and polite, but the tone was… off. It wasn't the warm tone Orson used when he was genuinely concerned about someone. The tone was cooler, and his eyes were narrowed slightly. It could be pain, but it looked more calculating to me. "What you say is sensible, yet…"

"Hey, Orson," I began, leaning around slightly to look up at him. I kept my voice even and smiled to hide my misgivings. "How'd you know about the bracelets and the Sacred Stone thing?"

"King Fado told me when we got word of Grado's invasion, just in case," Orson answered easily. Too easily, actually. Orson was always one to hesitate a bit before mentioned a secret someone told him, even if it was important. "I imagine you were told at the same time, Seth?"

"I was," Seth confirmed. His eyes were narrowed slightly. "I'm surprised he had time to tell you, though, since Prince Ephraim left so soon."

"It was a close thing. Prince Ephraim snagged me as I was leaving, in fact."

"I see." Seth's eyes darted to me suddenly, and I realized what was going on. He wasn't watching Orson. He was watching _me_ , because he knew that I knew Orson far better than him. He had misgivings, but he was watching _me_ for the confirmation.

I looked away, not wanting to admit it, but as Orson continued pressing Eirika, I found it harder and harder to hold back. It wasn't like Orson to press. Even when I'd been at my worst two years ago… when the pneumonia hit, Mary and I had slept in the same room to make it easier for everyone to take care of us. We'd set up the beds so that we could easily hold hands, so I'd been the first to know she had died. The hand in mine had gone limp, and even now, I could remember how heavy that dead hand had felt. I had refused to eat after that, even though I was still sick. Even then, though, while Orson had _urged_ me to eat, he had never _pressed_. He had been supportive, concerned, but he hadn't pressed me to do what I didn't want to do, even though it was detrimental to my health. It just wasn't his way.

But he pressed Eirika now, and it could be because it involved the country, but that wasn't like Orson either. Monica and I were Orson's world, and I knew how my near-death had terrified him. If he didn't press then, I didn't think he'd press now.

"Hey, Orson, what's going on?" I asked, interrupting them. Orson gave me a confused look, while Eirika looked down, fidgeting with her bracelet. "This isn't like you." I matched his look with my own hesitant one. "Even when I tried to starve myself after Mary died, you didn't… act like this." Eirika shot me a worried look, but I focused on Orson. "You're being pushy."

"I… apologize, Princess Eirika," Orson murmured. I frowned at his hesitation. That wasn't like him either. He was normally quick with an apology. "I suppose my worry…"

"I've a question myself," Seth interrupted. He glanced at me again, and this time, I nodded. Something was wrong, even if I didn't want to admit it. "Do you know why no reinforcements came from the castle despite the battle outside?"

"Of course, not, Seth. I was prisoner."

"And you escaped, leaving Prince Ephraim? That doesn't sound like you." Seth hesitated, and then very pointedly stepped between Orson and Eirika. "And… you were a prisoner. You are unarmed."

"Of course, Seth. They wouldn't let prisoners keep weapons." Orson sighed, mournful. "There's been a bit of a misunderstanding, my fault of course, but-"

"But, if you were a prisoner, why do you conceal in your doublet?" Seth's question was met with total silence. "Am I wrong? If I am, I will apologize a thousand times and more. I have grown paranoid due to recent events."

"...Ah, damn, you were always too clever, Seth." Orson sighed again, but this time, it was exasperated. "You will not be deceived, will you?"

"No, you almost had me. But then Emma started looking at you oddly."

"That makes sense. She's my little sister." Orson stepped away from them, taking my hand to tug me with him. I followed automatically, unable to quite process what was going on. "Ah, if only Eirika had been alone…"

"Why did you betray Renais, Orson?" Seth's sentence made no sense to me. None of this made sense to me. "Your loyalty… it was always unwavering, unquestioning. Why…?"

"My fondest wish has been realized. I get to spend the rest of my days in my loving wife's embrace once more." That _also_ made no sense. Monica was dead. Monica was _six months_ dead. Why would you want to be embraced by a rotting corpse? "Tirado, I got them in here."

"That you did." Heavy clanking announced the arrival of another person, from a door I hadn't noticed. "Welcome to Renvall, everyone," the man greeted, wearing a slight smirk. His armor was clearly Grado. This was a trap. We'd walked headfirst into a trap. "Orson, you are more than welcome to leave now, though. Please, return to your wife."

"Thank you," Orson replied. I could still only stare. "However, we need to make an amendment to the agreement." Orson's hand fell on my shoulder. I was too shocked to move. "My sister-in-law is here. I will not leave her."

"Ah, yes, that's just fine, Orson. I wouldn't dream of hurting your family." Tirado's smile was almost-genuine as he looked at me. "My, she's quite pretty. I believe I saw her riding a wyvern earlier as well? When I'm done here, I'll arrange for General Glen to give her lessons. It looked like she was in her element."

"So long as it's Glen and not Valter. No offense to your lord, but I don't want him near her."

"Of course." Orson used the hand on my shoulder to lead me away, and I just… went along, too stunned to do much of anything else. I heard nothing but the roaring in my ears, and only the slight trembling of the ground told me there had been some sort of explosion. I was too shocked to worry about the others.

What was going on? What was going on? _What was going on?!_

* * *

"The townhouse is still filled with everything, Emma," Orson happily told me. He seemed in the best of moods, like we were walking through a festival, not through a Grado fort after he'd _betrayed Renais_. I just couldn't understand any of this. "Monica is not yet recovered enough to cook or anything, though, so sadly, we can't have things like her fruit omelettes, but I'm sure you'll enjoy cooking there. You liked the kitchen when you last visited."

I didn't answer. I just looked around the area, not seeing anything. I tripped on sudden stairs, but Orson caught me easily and helped me up them. I could barely hear the sounds of fighting. I wondered what was going on.

"She's lost a bit of weight, so I had to get her some new dresses. When we get back home, I'll make sure you get some new ones too, to make up for the ones that burned. I'm sorry about your house, Emma. It's a shame that it burned. Maybe I could repair it? I think Alex wouldn't mind."

Our steps were muted, and it took a bit to realize it was because we were walking on a rug. I had no idea why we went 'up' instead of just going 'out'. Maybe Orson's horse was in the stables or something and he was going to go get it? I didn't know. I didn't know anything.

"Don't worry, though, Emma. I'll protect you and Monica this time. I failed twice over, but I'll make it up. I promise. We'll be happy together again, back home. Oh, but you mentioned a wyvern. I'm sure you'll want to keep her. We'll adapt the stables for her. Brynhildr, right? A good name."

It didn't help that Orson just kept on chatting like nothing had just happened. It was like we'd jump back a year, and Orson went back to how he was, while I kept all my memories. Nothing felt real. I wondered if this was actually some sort of dream. Maybe I'd fallen asleep or something in the middle of the battle. Or maybe I'd fallen from Brynhildr. That seemed rather likely. Maybe I'd even drowned and having a very long final dream. It would certainly explain getting a random wyvern.

"I'm sorry I left you alone, Emma. You shouldn't have had to deal with that. Twice over, now. I'll never leave you alone again, though. You and Monica. Everything will work out. I'll make them work. You'll see. Everything will be just…" Orson finally trailed off, and for a moment, I wondered if he'd noticed how unresponsive I was. "Now, who would be up here? I picked this path specifically to not run into anyone. I'm sure you're tired, Emma."

I didn't answer. I just looked around, noticing that we were at some sort of intersection. I had no idea where we were, of course. There wasn't even a window nearby for me to call for Brynhildr. I wondered if she'd hear me if I screamed.

"Come out. I know you're there, and I'm in no mood to play." Orson reached into his doublet to pull out a short sword. I wondered why he bothered to keep it; he _hated_ short swords. "Well?"

"...Orson, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Someone stepped out from behind a nearby statue, and it took me a couple of blinks to realize it was Prince Ephraim. There was something familiar about him, something besides the whole 'oh, this is the Crown Prince and Eirika's twin brother' thing, but I couldn't place it. "Strange, I would've thought you ran off by now," he retorted coolly. His lance glinted strangely in the torch light. "Isn't that what traitors do? Run away?"

"I do not believe you have the right to call out anyone for 'running away', Prince Ephraim, since you have practically made a career out of it," Orson retorted, voice equally cold. It startled me. He used to scold people for talking poorly about Prince Ephraim. "But if we are talking of strange things, I personally find it strange that you've not run away to do whatever again. What was it? Strike at the emperor himself?"

"...I learned Eirika was here, and that my father is dead." Prince Ephraim's eyes flicked to mine, and I recognized the armor he wore at last. I then felt bad, because no matter how much I disliked him, he deserved to learn… all of that from someone far kinder than me. "So, I came here instead. Why do you have that girl? Unhand her at once."

"She's my little sister, Prince Ephraim, so don't think I'll leave her in your 'capable' hands." Orson's voice was drier than I'd ever heard. "She's already gone through hell because you dragged me on this adventure of yours. I'll be taking her home, where she should've been."

"She doesn't exactly look willing." Prince Ephraim shifted slightly, bringing his lance to a more 'ready' position. I recognized it; it was one of the ones Seth showed me. "So, I think I'm honor bound to force you to unhand her. I'll get her to Eirika. They seem close, if Eirika's not standing on propriety and insisting on a title."

"A fight, huh?" Orson sighed, and I frowned when he dropped the short sword. "I know better than to try and fight a lance with a short sword like that." He shrugged, waving away Ephraim's confused look. "What? Are you the only one allowed to pick fights he knows he'll win?"

"...I don't trust you."

"Of course not. You're not your sister. You fancy yourself a man of the world, Ephraim." Orson's voice became horribly mocking, and Prince Ephraim's eyes narrowed. My own attention was on Orson's arm, trying to think through the sludge my mind had become as to _why_ that would hold my attention. "Of course, you know about as much as your sister, but I suppose you get points for trying. Except you never tried at anything important."

"I find it hard to believe that you'll just abandon your only weapon when facing down someone who would very gladly gut you."

"What a rude thing to say in front of a lady, Ephraim." Orson smiled, but it was a patronizing one. I never even thought he was capable of a smile like that. "Then again, tact was one of the lessons you skipped out on." He moved his arm 'oddly' to his side, except my brain knew it wasn't really 'odd'. With that, I pulled the pieces together for _why_ it held my attention. I also knew the other reason why I thought it strange he'd carried a short sword, of all things.

I knew Orson. I knew what weapons he carried and favored. Even the ones the other knights didn't. Orson always carried three knives on him, because that was a trick Dad always favored. Dad had been a street urchin before being recruited into the knights, and even after becoming one of the 'greatest of knights', he still kept those daggers, just in case. He taught Orson how to fight with them, because sometimes, you had to sully your honor to protect your charges. He even taught Orson poisons, though I only knew that because I'd accidentally cut myself on one of the daggers and had to get rushed to a healer.

All of that meant that when Orson casually twisted his arm, a motion that no one would really pay attention to, I knew he was actually releasing one of his daggers from his wrist sheath, and preparing to throw it. And Orson was _always_ deadly with throws.

"DUCK!" I screamed the word as loud as I could, and thank everything holy, Prince Ephraim listened, dropping to the ground just in time for the dagger Orson threw to sail over his head and embed itself into the wall. Orson sighed and started down the hall, dragging me with him. I dug my heels in to get a little more time. "Look, you need to get Eirika out of here!" I jerked my head back to keep eye contact with Prince Ephraim. He started at me with wide eyed awe. "She's going to try and stay because she's stupidly kind like that!" My arm and legs hurt, but I kept on resisting. "And don't touch that dagger! Knowing Orson, it's poisoned! It's a trick he learned from my dad!" Orson went around a corner and tugged me sharply. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

We went around the corner, Orson grumbling silently, and I struggled to keep my feet under me. I wondered where we were going. I wondered where the other two of the group were. But then the sounds of battle nearly deafened me, and I tried to figure out why _that_ was. It took me a second to realize it was because we were on some sort of balcony thing above what had to be the great hall of the fort, and everyone was fighting below. I leaned over the side of the railing, desperately trying to count as Orson continued to drag me behind him. I frowned when I somehow came out with two _more_ than normal, but then noticed the two armored people near Franz and Eirika, one of which looked like Franz, both of which I didn't know by sight. _They_ must be Forde and Kyle. Prince Ephraim must've sent them down a faster path to reach Eirika sooner.

"Oh, I've a good shot," Orson murmured. He stopped suddenly and twisted his wrist, freeing up his second dagger. I frowned, wondering what he was talking about, but then I realized what it was; he had a clear shot on Eirika. "Let's go with-"

"No!" I slammed my fist on top of his arm, leaning awkwardly across him to actually get to it. It made an odd smacking sound, and it took me a blink to realize I'd caught him so off-guard that I'd actually also slammed his arm into the _railing_. The end result was him dropping the dagger, and I leaned over the railing, worried that it would hit someone. Thankfully, though, it didn't. I thought some people glanced up to try and figure out the source of my shouting, but I didn't have time to look. I had to deal with Orson.

"Ow… that hurt," Orson grumbled. He rubbed his arm, and actually pushed up the sleeve to check on the bruise. I was sickeningly pleased at how large it looked. "You've certainly gotten stronger. You used to not be able to even give someone a black eye with a punch."

"Yes, I suppose we've both changed a lot in a short time." My voice was soft, but I was thinking again. I was finally, finally, thinking again. "So, perhaps you can explain to me what the hell is going on?"

"I'd think it's straightforward." He shrugged, like it was no big deal. "They offered me Monica back in exchange for information on Renais. I took the deal for us."

"See, that? That's what I don't get. Assuming that, somehow, Monica was brought back…" I spoke slowly, calmly even. "Assuming that, somehow, the gods allowed that despite all the stories telling of how they smite people for even trying…" I was rather proud of myself, actually. "Assuming both of those things… _Why is all the everloving fucking hells would you do that?!"_ My voice cracked as I put all the confusion and frustration I felt into that shout. "Why?! Did you forget what killed her? It wasn't some wound or poison! It wasn't some simple illness! It was her own damn body and those… those damn tumors! She suffocated because her own body turned against her! Why would you bring her back in a body like that?!"

"It's cured. She breathes fine, talks fine. You'll see."

"And she's okay with this? I highly doubt that!" None of this made sense to me. "You betrayed Renais for Monica? Really? For Monica? The daughter of a knight? The _wife_ of a knight? The one in the family who idolized the ideals of chivalry and honor even more than you? The one who scolded me whenever I rolled my eyes at the nonsense? _That_ Monica? What the hell, Orson? Seriously, what the hell?" I started gesturing wildly, hoping the crisp movements would convey my anger and disbelief even more than my voice and tone. "Yes, she was sad when you had to leave on missions, but she was so proud of what you did! Did you forget how she was so happy she cried when you took your oaths? That you felt so strongly about loyalty and honor that you became a knight was one of the things she _loved_ about you! And yet, you threw it away? Why the hell would you-?"

"Why would I not turn my back on a country that always did the same to me and all of its knights?!" Orson snapped back, glaring. I had to fight not to step away. We'd never had an argument before. I didn't know what to do. "For a king who gives a paltry apology for one's loss before ignoring everything but work and politics? For a Crown Prince so arrogant that he thinks a group of four people makes any sort of difference against an army, never considering how worried they'd be about their own families? For a princess so naive and sheltered that she thinks a smile and a thank you is all that's needed to get through the world? Time and time again, they failed their knights, using them up and leaving their families with nothing more than pittance! If not for the money Tabitha had, you wouldn't have even been able to keep the house Alex _built_ because the stipend given as an 'apology for his death' was so low!" He slammed his fist into the railing with a loud 'thawk' that made dust shake off from the ceiling. "Why serve a country like that? Why do _anything_ for a country and family that did nothing but took me away from the people I truly wanted to protect?!"

"...That doesn't give you the right to betray them, Orson. Especially like this." Tears streamed down my face again. This time, though, it was at how much pain he was in. How much pain he must've been in for a long time and I had never noticed. "That doesn't give you the right to kill them. You can't do that. You're not just magically allowed to do that because life sucks. It doesn't matter how much you hate them." He had seemed so happy with being a knight, though. Then again, maybe he and Monica just put on a brave face for me. Or maybe he hadn't thought about any of this until Monica was gone. I had no idea. "You aren't allowed to inflict on them the same pain you feel just because you're miserable."

"You don't underst-!"

"Understand what? How much it hurts to be left behind? Because, let me tell you, _I'm in pain all the fucking time because of that_!" My throat throbbed in pain from all the screaming, and my voice crackled from the strain. But I still kept at it. Because, no matter how much he _thought_ he was right, I refused to let him use my sister as an excuse. "I lost my parents to freak accidents! I lost all my friends to a stupid illness! I had to watch my sister die, _alone_ , unable to do anything! You disappeared into the wilderness while a war was going on! Everyone in the village slowly left until it was just a husk of its former self! A husk that was then set aflame because of a fucking psychopath that just wanted to get off on some corpses!" I glared at him with all the anger I had. He actually took a step back. "And here I am! Alive when everyone else has died or left! You think I don't understand pain? Really? Or is it that I don't understand why you'd betray everything you were, everything Monica loved you for? That I don't understand why you'd betray the country we lived in, the country we loved, the country _Mom_ chose to raise us in, the country Dad _died_ for?! Because, you're right! I don't understand! Even if you hated them all this much, I don't understand why you'd _do_ that and maybe I'm the lesser one for it! But what I _really_ don't understand is why you would do any of that, and think that Monica would be okay with it! And if the broken mess of a doll they gave you _is_ somehow okay with it, _then I know gods damned well it's not Monica!"_

"Shut up!" He surged forward and snagged my arm in a bruising grip. The pain nearly made me sob; Orson had never hurt me before. He never grabbed me so roughly. Even when showing me how to fight, he'd felt horrible if he hit me a little too hard and I bruised. "We're going home. You'll see her, and you'll understand then."

"No! I won't!" I struggled to free myself. His grip on my arm tightened further. "I won't! Because none of this makes sense and you know it and I'm not afraid to call you out on how stupid you're being, Orson!" I stomped on his foot in an effort to get away. He flinched but didn't let go. "Let me go! The Orson I grew up with wouldn't do anything like this! The Orson who Monica married wouldn't even consider any of it! I don't know who the _fuck_ you think you are, _but you're not my brother!"_

Everything seemed strangely slow after that. One second, I was struggling to free myself. The next second, Orson pushed me away, likely from the shock of what I'd blurted. The third, I hit the railing hard in an awkward spot. The fourth, I went over the railing.

The fifth I was falling. I was falling and watching Orson's horror filled face get farther and farther away.

The sixth, in a panic, I screamed, "BRYNHILDR!" The eighth, a window shattered close by. The eleventh, Brynhildr was under me, sparkling from glass shards and little bits of blood. The twelfth, I landed hard on her, hearing an odd sort of 'snap' under me.

The thirteenth, a wave of pain flooded me. I'd broken my arm. But Brynhildr had caught me. Somehow. She'd heard, come, and caught me. I wasn't going to go splat today, thank you.

"Up," I hissed, cradling my broken arm to my chest. Brynhildr ascended slowly, snarling as she crested the railing and caught sight of Orson. Orson still looked horrified, but there was a touch of relief in his face. "Give me the third dagger."

"Emma…" he began. He hesitated, and then his expression crumpled like he was holding back tears. "If you see her, you'll-"

"Give. Me. The. Dagger." I held out my unbroken hand for emphasis, fighting the urge to cry again, and not just from pain. Broken arms hurt, but seeing how much he'd changed in a short time? Seeing him doing all this? That hurt _worse_. "Now. Or I will ask Brynhildr to do it instead, and I guarantee you, she will not be gentle." Brynhildr growled for emphasis, baring her fangs and claws. "Give it."

"..." Slowly, he reached down to his boot and pulled out the dagger. His eyes darted to the side, though, and instead of handing it to me, he threw it. I knew instinctively that he'd thrown it at either Eirika or Prince Ephraim. Probably Eirika, but hey, perhaps Prince Ephraim had joined up with everyone. Either way...

"No!" I half-fell out of the saddle, trying to catch the dagger. Brynhildr dropped quickly and leaned to the side to keep me in, and I actually managed to snatch the dagger. By the blade. Even though I wore gloves, it cut deep anyway, the blood pooling in my palm, and then it fell, because my hand went numb instantly. The cold numbness then started to slowly crawl up to my wrist and through my arm. Every thudding heartbeat marked a little more numbness spreading up.

I didn't even have to give Brynhildr an order. She swooped down instantly, and leaned to one side to help me slide off. Before I even hit the ground, Joshua was there to catch me, and help me over to Natasha, who gave me a quick hug before going to work. As she shouted for some antitoxin, Joshua kissed my hair and continued to hold me. The battle continued around us, as distant as a dream, where everyone was a horrible blur of colors I couldn't piece together no matter how hard I tried. Then again, I didn't try very hard.

At some point between one breath and the next, I passed out. I didn't even care why. I was just grateful to _not think_ for a short while.

* * *

When I came to, I heard singing. I recognized the voice instantly, Joshua, and knew the song, a Prayer Song. It was another known mostly among nobles, one specifically sung for those that experienced a lot of trauma as well as injuries. It touched me that he sung something so fitting, even if it made my heart ache.

"Oh, you're awake." A little bit of movement made my pry my eyes open, and I saw Joshua stand up and lean over me, smiling gently. He must've been sitting beside my bed… roll. I was in my bedroll. I was looking at the canvas of a tent. "You're in camp," he explained, running a hand through my hair. "We escaped."

"How was I carried out?" I asked. My voice rasped horrible and I coughed. "Why did I faint?"

"I carried you until it became obvious we needed a bit more speed, after which Brynhildr let Eirika ride her to carry you, after some negotiations with your very protective wyvern." He continued stroking my hair, and I let the motion soothe me. "As for fainting… well, the poison and the broken arm didn't help, but ultimately, she thinks it was emotional exhaustion."

"...Shows me for getting my hopes up, huh?" I tried to smile, but couldn't muster up the energy. "Poison out?"

"All cleared at this point. Your arm is going to be badly bruised for a bit longer, though." His hand stilled and he gave me a serious look. "Orson escaped, I'm afraid. I tried to run him down, but another trap stopped me."

"It's fine. I don't want to see him." I wished he'd died. I wished he'd just died. That might've hurt less. "It's fine."

"No, it's not. But it will be, in time." He smiled again. "I'm going to get Neimi and we'll get some food into you. And yes, you're going to eat. I know eating after a draining experience is the worst thing, but trust me, you'll need the energy to emote more." He bent down and kissed my forehead before heading out. I wasn't alone for long, though. Eirika burst in not long after, and it looked like she'd been crying. Her face was all puffy, at least. But she smiled for me. That meant a lot.

"We… reunited with Ephraim," she explained. She sat on the bed beside me, and took my hand. "He told me you saved him."

"I told him to duck, yeah," I answered. I managed to smile back. "So. Back to Frelia?"

"Yeah." Her hand tightened on mine. "I'm sorry, Emma."

"For what? Orson?" I shook my head, and, with a grunt of pain, made myself actually sit up. "Not your fault."

"But…"

"I won't say you didn't influence, since he seems to think so. And… well, I think you know by now you've been sheltered. Honestly, if everything he said was true, then I was too." Sighing, I leaned forward, resting my head on her shoulder. She instantly wrapped her free arm around me in a hug. "But, it's not your fault he betrayed. If anything, I should-"

"No." She tightened her hug on me, resting her cheek against my hair. "No, because I'm not the only one he betrayed. He betrayed me, the princess, and my brother, the prince. He betrayed Seth, his friend, and I'm sure that hurts worse than my pain. And, even worse, he betrayed you. So, no, you should not be the one comforting me. My pain lies in simply being so weak that I could not help him, and so naive that I could not hear his cries of pain. Your pain… is having your hopes dashed because something twisted your brother into someone you could not recognize."

"...See, things like that… are why I think you'd be a good queen…" My voice cracked, and I started to cry again. "Or a good ambassador, at least."

"I wanted to be an ambassador for Renais. The only 'queen' I wanted to be… was Lyon's, truthfully." She laughed a little. "But Emma, if you still have tears to shed, please, cry. Anytime you need to, know that I'll have a shoulder and a hug for you. Just as you have for me."

I couldn't answer her, because I did just that. I broke down again, sobbing until I was choking on the tears and coughing. Eirika held me the whole time, projecting an aura of comfort and reassurance. I appreciated it. A lot.

Finally, though, the tears ran out. My head throbbed, my nose ran, and my eyes burned. But Eirika still smiled, and left my side only briefly to fetch a wet rag to help me clean up my face. "Seems like you're like me," she teased, eyes dancing a bit. "I can't cry prettily either."

"I don't think anyone can 'cry prettily', not a real cry at least," I pointed out. I sounded stuffed up, and almost smiled when I realized it. But after all that crying, I just felt numb. It was a numbness I knew, though. I'd felt it so many times before, after every death. "I mean, your face gets all scrunched up and everything."

"True. Maybe that's why I was scolded." Her smile warmed. "I'll make sure that tea is ready, if you're okay for now?"

"Yeah, I am." I winced as I felt the headache coming already. "...Yeah, tea, please."

"I'll be right back." She gave me another quick hug and then walked off, going more slowly than normal. I thought it was her giving me a chance to call her back.

When she left, I slumped and held up my hands to look at the 'injuries'. My hand was healed up perfectly, without even the signs of a scab. My arm was a mess of purple, black, blue, yellows, and greens, bruising from the break and from the landing. I hoped someone had checked over Brynhildr. She had to be hurt too.

"Um… hello?" A quiet, shy voice made me look up, and I did a double-take at the strange girl who peeked inside my tent. Indigo hair, and a strangely bulky cloak. "Um…" she mumbled, hesitating. "You…"

"My name is Emma," I greeted, waving her in. She did so quietly. "You are?"

"Myrrh. Prince Ephraim saved me." She shifted awkwardly, not coming any closer. "Um…"

"Did you need something?" I found myself focusing on her hair, like there was something important about it. In a moment, I remembered. "Oh, indigo hair. You must be the girl Saleh was looking for."

"Saleh?" Her eyes lit up. "Was he okay, last you saw?"

"Yeah. Worried, but okay."

"Oh, good." She smiled sweetly, if shyly. "I'm glad… to hear that…" She looked down briefly before looking back up at me. "...I hope you stay with them." As she stared at me, I noticed her eyes seemed far too old for her face. She looked around twelve, but her eyes were older than many elder I'd met. "It's your choice, of course. But I hope you do. I think they need you. That's all I wanted to say."

Not given me a chance to even react to the somewhat strange words, she bolted out of the tent quickly, but again, I wasn't alone for long. Neimi soon came by with a bright smile and food for me, and distracted me with gossip and silly stories. Natasha joined us not long afterwards with some of that headache tea for me, giving me a checkup as Neimi helped me eat.

It felt… strange. When Monica had died, I'd had no one but Orson. But now that Orson was gone, I had… so many people. Why… why was it that I only gained friends when I'd lost everything? Why?

* * *

 _Notes on Ephraim:_

 _The 17 year old Crown Prince of Renais, who fights with lances. Eirika's elder twin._

 _Known for his skill and battle and his equally poor skill in diplomacy._

 _He's not well liked by the populace due to his tendency to avoid duties and just do whatever, but surprisingly, the loyalty Forde and Kyle show him is very real and very strong. Maybe there's something to him after all._

 _Notes on Forde:_

 _A 19 year old cavalier of Renais, who specializes in lances. Franz's older brother._

 _Skilled and fast, but laidback in his training and duties, hinting that maybe he's not as determined to remain a knight as, say, Kyle or Franz._

 _He's a very skilled painter, though Orson swore me to secrecy on it. He's supposedly even better than the court artists._

 _Notes of Kyle:_

 _A 19 year old cavalier of Renais, who specializes in lances._

 _Strong and durable, he takes his duty almost too seriously. He also seems competitive, determined to never lose._

 _Has a sister named Mia who lives in Frelia. He intends to visit her once we return._

* * *

Author's notes: So, first off, Brynhildr's name. Yes, I know, that's the name of Leo's tome from Fates. But it's also the name of a valkyrie from the Volsunga Saga, which also features the characters Siegmund and Sieglinde, the namesakes for Ephraim and Eirika's personal weapons. In one opera detailed the Saga (written by Wagner), Brynhildr actually protected Sieglinde, defying Odin in the process.

There's not a lot of fighting here, mostly because I wanted the focus to be on Emma and Orson's confrontation. The line 'I don't pick fights I can't win' is originally a badass boast spoken by Ephraim in chapter 5x, but Orson purposely uses it here to mock Ephraim. In game, this chapter's name is 'It's a Trap', but I can't read that sentence without thinking of Return of the Jedi, thank you General Ackbar, so I changed it to focus more on Emma's shattered bond with Orson.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Serafew


	12. Interlude - Serafew

Interlude - Serafew

* * *

 _Eirika reunited with Ephraim, and I got to see how far Orson had fallen while we were separated. At least she got what she wanted. I would hate for her to have lost her twin to this madness._

 _Ah… I'm so tired… I don't know what I'm supposed to do..._

* * *

"Here, try this, petal." Joshua casually passed me a candied orange peel. "It's pretty good," he explained. "Little sweet for me, though."

"It's called _candied_ for a reason," I pointed out dryly, taking the peel. I made a face as soon as I popped it into my mouth. "I think they put it in more sugar than they should've. Then again, isn't Grado known for very sweet sweets?"

"They are, but that's almost too much." He snickered, and I smiled, and the two of us continued down the path through the Serafew market. We had stopped temporarily nearby to pick up a few more supplies to help us get to Frelia comfortably. Money wasn't an object; apparently, Colm looted the place rather thoroughly. Which meant Joshua and I could actually spend a little extra coin to help with the illusion that we were brother and sister, visiting.

He had to remove his hat for it, though. There _were_ still Grado Soldiers, after all. He complained bitterly about it.

"How are we on our list?" he asked, peering at the paper I held. That was my 'job', holding the paper. He held all the purchases. I'd pointed out that I was more than capable of carrying some baskets, but he refused. Something about brothers needed to spoil their 'little sisters'. I failed to see how carrying all the baskets was spoiling. "Do we have everything?"

"Yep," I replied, checking through it. "Mostly. We couldn't find those herbs for Moulder and Natasha."

"They're popular in vulneraries, so I'm not surprised everyone is sold out." His light words made my heart heavy. There were a lot of people getting injured if _herbs_ had run out. I wondered how many people would lose everything. "Guild must be making a killing."

"That's… good, right?"

"Well, less chance of starving until Grado turns its attention on Jehanna, which will be a disaster."

"For Grado, right? Because of the desert."

"Well, the desert heat will hurt them, yes, but Jehanna doesn't keep a standing army. It has mercenaries and the Knights of the Oasis for the palace. And some city guards." Joshua sighed. "It relies heavily on how _most_ armies can't traverse the sands well. But Grado's army has fliers and lightly armored mages who can move unimpeded amidst the sand. They wouldn't be able to use their cavalry forces very well, but that's one third of their army."

"...Oh." I paused, trying to think of what to say. "But the Knights of the Oasis are supposed to be strong, right? Mom always said one of them was worth an army."

"And because of that, most of the Knights are sent off on missions for the Crown, and… many stay away anyway, due to their own grief." Joshua kicked a rock off to the side of the path. "See, the Knights are all chosen by their successors for keen eye, but upon completing their training, they hold the choice of taking the oaths or simply becoming a damned skilled mercenary. The ones who swear the oaths often do so because they respect the ruler. This is especially the case with the former king."

"King Raphael, the Beloved." He was possibly _the_ most popular king Jehanna had ever had. A kind, if odd, young man who everyone had looked forward to inheriting. Mom knew him, of course. He'd worked low-risk jobs at the Guild to get an idea of how it all worked, and that was actually how he'd met his eventual wife, Queen Ismaire. The people were _delighted_ that he'd taken a common-born mercenary as his queen, particularly one so famous. "He died unexpected, right?"

"Yeah. One day, he was fine, and the next, he had collapsed, spewing up blood. He was dead within the week." Joshua's eyes unfocused slightly, and I wondered if he'd seen it. I was more or less certain, based on the Prayer Songs he knew, that he was nobly born, at least. "The country damn near collapsed from the grief, and most Knights of the Oasis… took jobs away to mourn. He had _earned_ their loyalty and friendship, and they were not certain if they wanted to give it to someone else, even if that 'someone else' was the wife he loved, and the queen they respected." He smiled though. "Ah, but I'm sure it'll be fine. The leader of the Knights, Carlyle, remains with Queen Ismaire. I'm sure no one will breach the castle until some help gets there with him to fight for Jehanna."

"You admire him."

"He's cool, for an old guy." He winked and I giggled, unable to help it. "Besides, I doubt he'd let the castle fall ever. He _was_ King Raphael's best friend, practically brothers."

"Very true. Mom talked about how his loyalty was his greatest aspect." I hummed a little in thought, a small tavern ditty that Joshua quickly hummed too, making me smile. "What do you think they'll do when the prince returns?"

"Who knows? I imagine disappearing for ten long years does nothing to earn loyalty. That's assuming they think he'll return."

"He has to. The people will break if he doesn't. They love him."

"They love how he is all they have left of their beloved King Raphael, and they admire his audacity. They don't love _him_." He sounded strangely serious suddenly. "He hasn't done anything for them beside live among them, and watch injustice pass him by. He needs to _do_ something to earn it."

"But he will."

"You sound certain of it."

"Mom told me about King Raphael and Queen Ismaire. Based on that, I think a child raised by them, trained by Carlyle as well, will return and change Jehanna for the better. Or he'd be the total opposite, but I'd like to believe in the son of my mom's best friend." I smiled up at him as he gave me a strangely incredulous look. "You'll help him, though, I bet. He'll listen to mercenaries, living among them."

"You…" He suddenly moved all the baskets to one hand and pulled me into a side-hug, resting his cheek on my hair. "You are the sweetest."

"Don't know why you're reacting like that, but whatever." I leaned into the hug, smiling. It was warm, like Orson's was _supposed_ to be, but the scent of frankincense was pretty uniquely Joshua, as was how easily he showed the affection. Joshua's hugs were the best, really. Nostalgic, but still unique. "We should return to the others, though."

"Yes, we should." He held onto the hug a little longer before letting go and redistributing the baskets. "Head east."

We took the eastern gate out, and then carefully navigated all the way around to the north west corner of the city before pushing further north to finally reach the camp. As we did, though, I caught sight of Eirika and Ephraim handing out in a clearing close to it, and, worried, I poked Joshua's arm and pointed to them to let him know I was going. He nodded and continued on to camp while I moved to the clearing, keeping to the edges when I noticed the two were deep in conversation.

"What do you suppose Lyon is doing now?" Eirika whispered. She looked up at the sky, as if the answers were somehow there. "When Emperor Vigarde ordered the attack… how do you think he felt?"

"I don't know," Prince Ephraim replied. He looked at the ground, as if the answers were _there_. "He's always been so gentle, but he worships his father. But Emperor Vigarde clearly isn't rational…" He sighed. "I just hope he's not so far gone that he'll hurt Lyon."

"I just pray for the day that the three of us can be together again will come soon."

"It'll come. I've no doubt." He smiled teasingly at her. "And when that happens, you're dramatically confess, right?"

"Ephraim!" Eirika colored and he snickered. "You…" She glowered briefly before it faded for a sad look. "But… will the people… accept that, given what Grado has done…?" She shook her head. "Oh, no, don't mind me! I'm going to help Neimi cook!"

"Eirika!" Prince Ephraim reached out to grab her, but she darted out of range too fast, and so, he simply stared after her. "Damn it…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and then looked up. Unfortunately, I was still there, so he saw me. "Oh."

"Were you two reminiscing or something?" I asked, mostly because I doubted I could just walk away right now. "She did that last time."

"Yes, though clearly, I accidentally…" he began. He sighed again, crossing his arms. "I wish she'd be more selfish. She can't give _everything_ to the people, and not remain herself."

"Perhaps, but perhaps she's used to giving everything to make up for what you refuse to give." I looked Prince Ephraim right in the eye, and he matched the look stoically. "Or perhaps she's too gentle and kind to stand up for herself. Or both. It's likely both."

I turned away then, heading into the main part of the camp, where Joshua was passing out the supplies. I made sure to give Eirika an extra-warm smile when I saw her, and she gave me a confused look in return before smiling back, visibly deciding I was just going to be weird.

That was enough. It would be enough.

* * *

"I knew he kept three daggers, but I had no idea they were _poisoned_ ," Seth murmured. He and I were sitting on logs on the edge of camp, where he calmly and gently questioned me of what happened after Orson had dragged me off. He wanted a full idea of what the hell happened. "Where did he learn poisons?"

"Dad," I answered bluntly. He squirmed a little, and I wondered if he was uncomfortable by the idea that one of his 'heroes' used poisons. "You can ask Garcia. But Dad even mixed his own poisons, and they were supposedly potent enough that you needed the general antitoxin or a restore staff to deal with them." Too many different kinds. "If you can get some spy into Orson's townhouse, you can get the manuals he left behind for them."

"Do you know poisons?"

"Nope. Monica and I never learned. Orson only did because Dad once told him of how he only managed to save King Fado's life because of poison." I shrugged. "I was always told that Dad was of the opinion that if you were charged with protecting someone, you protected them however you could. Use the honorable methods first, but if your honor is getting in the way of keeping them safe, then you need to pick between your honor and their life. He picked life every time. You can beg for forgiveness easier from a living person."

"And yet, sadly, Orson nearly used that knowledge to kill three people he swore to protect." Seth sighed, and I was a little touched that he included me in that number. "Townhouse… I wonder _if_ we can get people there. It was close to the castle, so it would be useful for gathering information, and I'm sure there are other items you'll want…"

"If you can get them into the _castle_ , there's the pair of earrings Eirika really wants. Shaped like wings."

"I'll remember that." He smiled slightly. "Anything _you_ would want?"

"Those books. I shudder to think of what Grado will do with them. Other than that…" I trailed off, thinking of what was in the townhouse. Clothes. Portraits. Books. Quilts. Pots. Items that had colored my house, and turned it from 'house' to 'home', but were only sentimental. "Nothing that isn't worth someone's life. I can wait." I managed a smile. "It's not like we won't eventually reclaim Renais, right?"

"Right…" He fell silent, giving me an unreadable look. "I'm sorry. For Orson."

"...No. Don't be." My smile faltered, but I still tried to keep it up. "It's like with Monica's death. It's not your fault. You played a part, maybe, but he's still the stupid one." If only I had been there… if only I had been near… honestly, I even thought 'if only' I hadn't stopped him from killing himself a few months ago. "That's all." I looked down at the ground, trying to fight the urge to somehow _escape_. I didn't even know where. I just wanted to run or fly or…

...Fly. I _could_ …

"Can I go flying?" I asked the question before I could second guess myself. Seth immediately stiffened. "Please?"

"N…" He started to say 'no', but he paused, thinking a little. "Actually, a wyvern would not stand out here," he murmured. "If you promise to not fly off far…"

"Of course." I smiled, elated, and he smiled back softly. I had a sneaking suspicion he was only letting me get away with this potential danger because he knew I'd spend more time moping. "Oh, but what do I say if the others ask? Just that you gave permission?"

"Tell them you're going on a quick patrol. _If_ they ask."

"Thank you!" On impulse, I actually hugged him before darting off, racing for where Brynhildr was curled up behind the tent Eirika and I shared. She was already sitting up, like she'd just _known_ I needed a ride, and so, I buckled on the saddle and prepared to swing up.

However, just before I did, Brynhildr started growling. Confused, I gave her an odd look, and noticed her attention was on something nearby, so I turned to look. Then I stared, because the 'something' was Prince Ephraim. He stood still, staring back, with the wind whipping past to make his cape flutter around his legs, and the hair outside of my bun dance over my cheeks and neck.

I glanced up at Brynhildr, whose eyes were narrowed, and then looked back at Prince Ephraim before nodding to the saddle. "Do you want to fly too?" I asked him. He didn't answer. "Well?"

"Flying, me?" he asked after a moment. "Really?"

"If she'll let you." I smiled slightly as he eyed Brynhildr warily and made no move to get closer. "What's wrong? Not going to even try because you think you can't win her over?"

"Twice. That's twice I've been mocked for that statement." He groaned. "You weren't even _there_ for it!"

"You're well known for only putting effort at things you're good at, Prince Ephraim, and not trying at things you're not good at, like book studies." My smile widened as his eyes narrowed. "Well? What's it going to be? Walk away, or pick a battle you're not sure you'll win?"

I expected him to glower, make a comment, and walk away. Instead, he glowered, remained silent, and walked closer. He stopped, though, when Brynhildr growled lowly, a clear warning to keep his distance. I wasn't sure if she growled because of how little she liked people besides Eirika and me, or if she sensed how awkward I felt. Prince Ephraim was never someone I held in high regard, and while I could acknowledge Orson's betrayal wasn't his fault… it was hard to not blame him for me not being 'around' to stop it. But…

"Brynhildr, let's let him fly," I urged, smiling up at her. She looked down and gave me an almost wary look. "Please? I want to see how loud he squeaks."

"I do _not_ squeak," Prince Ephraim retorted, sounding almost insulted. He glowered when I grinned. "I don't."

"We'll see about that." I turned my attention back to Brynhildr and, almost reluctantly, she nodded. "Thank you, Brynhildr." I swung up in the saddle then, and buckled myself in. "Come on. Just swing up and hold on tight."

"Okay…" He carefully approached again, pausing as Brynhildr growled a third time, but then carefully climbed on behind me. "Like a horse."

"Eh, half. But treat her as a horse at your own peril." I saw how he wrapped his arms loosely around me and rolled my eyes before moving them to hold onto my waist more securely. "Either you hold on tight or you go flying off. Make your choice."

"It can't be that bad." Still, he did tighten his grip on me. "It's just-"

I clicked my tongue and Brynhildr launched herself into the air, the wind whipping past my face and ears. I was super pleased by his highly undignified squeak as we took off. _Super_ pleased.

Up and up we climbed, past the tree line in a thought, almost among the clouds in a breath. Once there, she leveled off and started flying over the trees, away from Serafew to lessen the chances of us getting caught. I held my breath as we flew over it, marveling at how rich the greens and browns of the forest was up here. How _small_ , yet beautiful, everything looked. A glance back at Ephraim, whose jaw had actually dropped, told me he thought the same.

"So, what do you think?" I asked him, smiling, after a long moment of flying in silence, the only sound being the wind rushing past. "You willing to try and win Brynhildr over for another flight like this?"

"I'd be willing to fight a god alone for this again," Ephraim answered, sounding so serious that I had to laugh. "Wow, it's beautiful. I never thought the world so beautiful before."

"What did you think?"

"Lonely, and restrictive, honestly." He leaned a little more against my back, trying to see something. "More the former than the latter."

"Should I bite my tongue and let you continue, or point out that your 'restrictive' life gave you warm meals, baths, and roofs over your head, along with non-overworked healers to cure you when you got sick? Oh wait."

"Ha… point." He bowed his head, acknowledging the barbs with a grace I found really surprising. I expected some sort of argument. "Lonely, then."

"Surrounded by people?"

"Unlike Eirika, I was never encouraged to be emotional. In fact, I was reprimanded for it, and I was discouraged from becoming close to anyone. Something about how 'a king must be neutral and not show favorites'. I was raised to be detached from everything. So, I only had a few people. Eirika, Seth, Orson, Forde, and Kyle… they were the only people I was 'allowed' to have." He laughed a little. "When I first met Lyon, I was so shocked he was open about his emotions, and open about how he wanted to be friends with us. I thought him very brave for it, and that impression just grew everyday. My very smart, very shy, but very brave friend."

"...But that's all, huh. All those people, and you only have… six people."

"Eight when you factor in Innes and Tana, but I saw them even less than Lyon." He shrugged. "So, it was lonely. But from up here, I think… how idiotic I must be to be 'lonely'. Look at everything! There's so many people, so much color!" He laughed again, this time sounding almost like a little boy. "This is a world worth fighting for. This is a world worth living for."

"Yes, I suppose so." I looked out over everything again, and smiled. "We'll have to land soon."

"Must we?"

"Yes, otherwise, everyone will worry." That made me think of something else. "Wait, why aren't you with Eirika anyway? _She_ was desperately worried."

"Yes, about you. She feels horrible about Orson. Almost all of our conversations turn back to you, which I suspect is her attempting to keep me from fretting over what dangers she got herself in." He shrugged again. "So, I don't know… I thought I'd see what you needed. I got distracted, of course, because you… your Brynhildr is amazing…"

"See what I needed?"

"Orson was on his own a lot, after his wife passed. I didn't ask him, assuming that he simply needed the time alone. That assumption… probably played a part in why he hated me. I assumed I knew what he needed, and didn't ask. I'd…" He paused and, to my surprise, he sounded hesitant. "I'd like to not make the same mistake twice? Especially since you and Eirika are so close. I know you dislike me, but I mean… I do hope to try and get along? Eventually?"

"...I never thought you could be anything but an arrogant hothead." I laughed as he huffed and glanced away. "I don't know what I need. When I lost my friends, I had Orson and Monica. When Monica died, I had Orson. Now, I've all of you, but hell if I know what to do with so many people."

"Then… maybe sparring? Exercise is supposed to be good, right?"

"Well, I won't pass up the chance to hit you in the face like I did Seth." I laughed again as he gave me a look that seemed both amused and 'oh god, what did I just offer?'. "Sure. We can do that, in the morning. But seriously, we should land."

"One more swing about?"

"If Brynhildr doesn't mind." I grinned as she immediately swooped down, taking a long and slow arc down.

Well, I didn't expect a simple flight to increase my opinion on him, but weirder things had happened. Of course, he needed to live up to it, and _that_ was harder than anything. I'd give him a chance, for Eirika's sake. It would be really awkward otherwise, after all, and since Eirika had been just so _kind_ … no, since Eirika was my friend, my best friend, I didn't want to put her in an awkward situation.

I'd try for her. I just hoped he made it easy.

* * *

When we landed, it was a worried Eirika greeting us, who immediately started pouting after a reassurance that everything was fine, since she wanted to go on a flight too. A 'proper one' she mentioned, where she could take in the view. I promised that when we got to Frelia, I'd take her up, which mollified her. Then Seth came up and asked how my 'patrol' went, and I did my best to give the 'report' as seriously as possible. After that, Natasha snagged me to do a check on Brynhildr's back and my arm.

"Sorry for insisting on checking her," Natasha murmured as she dabbed some sort of bruise potion on my arm. Since we were not in danger, we were simply treating the bruises left over from my broken arm with medicine. By this point, they were more green and yellow, and barely bothered me. "I wanted to make sure nothing strained."

"It's fine, Natasha," I reassured, holding perfectly still. I watched how easily she spread out the medicine, and was reminded of when Mom would treat my bruises as a child, though the medicine smelled differently. It was sharper and less 'herb smelly' than what Mom used. "She _is_ okay, right?"

"Yes. Unlike normal animals, wyverns have a high healing rate, though that can sometimes be to their detriment, since things like infection and foreign objects can be 'sealed' into the wound quickly. She suffered a minor sprain."

"From a force that _broke_ my arm."

"To be fair, based on what Joshua and I saw, you landed arm first, so it bore the brunt of your fall." She prodded at where the 'main break' in my arm had been. "And you fell at an odd angle at that." She fell silent, finishing up with the bruise potion and then bandaging my arm to help keep the medicine on it and not on my clothes. "How are you doing?"

"About?"

"All of this, really. But I worry about you in regards to that man." She tied off the bandage and carefully smoothed it down. "Orson was his name, right?"

"...Yeah…" I sighed, wondering how to answer. "I don't know. I don't know how to feel. Most of the time, I feel numb or tired or both. But, that's not a 'feeling' so much as a 'my brain refuses to work' sort of thing. I know the feeling mostly. I'm more numb and less tired than I was after Monica died. But other than that…" I shrugged, feeling a little helpless. How did you react to betrayal? How were you supposed to react to your brother becoming someone you didn't know? I had _no_ idea. "I have nightmares. Though, that hasn't been unusual for weeks, but I have nightmares over it. And other things. But most of them have been on how Orson nearly killed Eirika and Prince Ephraim and..." I trailed off, unable to really say the other thing that haunted my nightmares: a revenant that bore Monica's face ripping me apart. Zombie Monica in general, really. It scared and sickened me that she wasn't allowed to rest in peace.

"...That's not unusual for those who see combat, particularly ones who did not choose it willingly." She smiled gently at me. "Nor is it unusual for those who suffer an interpersonal trauma. Which I do think a betrayal counts as." She touched my cheek, angling my face towards hers. She studied my face for a long moment, still smiling so gently. "I do not think you suffer from Soldier's Heart quite yet, but you might if we do not take steps now."

"Steps? How?"

"Well, you can talk with me, or someone like General Seth or Joshua. Talking is supposed to help quite a bit." Her smile warmed. "But, for now, why don't you talk with me about these nightmares?"

"But…" I hesitated. "You're busy…"

"At the moment, I am only busy tending to you, which is my charge and my pleasure. You are a wonderful girl, but it's clear you have needed support for a while, support you did not have and did not know how to ask for." She patted my cheek. "So, I offer what I can. I am a healer. Listening is part of my job."

"I…" It took me a moment, but eventually, I was telling her just about everything. It was her smile, her gentle smile that was similar to Monica's, or Mom's. That smile just broke the dam, and I was babbling about everything. Not just about this little 'adventure', but even about what it felt like to watch Monica slowly waste away. What it felt like, spending six months with only one distant, mourning person doing his best for me as comfort. Everything.

She listened calmly, asking questions every once in a while to clarify, or to help me gather my thoughts, but mostly letting me ramble. When I started crying, she wiped away the tears and brewed a tea to help with the headache.

I… would be fine. I would be fine. I wasn't alone. I'd be fine. In a few more days… weeks… months… I'd be fine...

* * *

Author's notes: So, after completing chapter 8, you get a rather long cutscene taking place in Serafew (providing one of the game's large number of flashback scenes) and Frelia. This interlude is based off of the one in Serafew, with the conversation between Ephraim and Eirika being the tail end of the scene in in-game. Ephraim reveals he was raised to be 'detached' in his A support with Kyle. Lyon being the one to ask the Renais twins if they want to be friends is revealed in the post-credits scene of the game, the final flashback the game uses. Wyverns being remarkably durable and capable of remarkable healing is simply due to how they're related to dragons in practically every single iteration in the series. The 'Knights of the Oasis' are unique to this story, and are partially inspired by the whole 'Knights of the Round Table'.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Frelia


	13. Interlude - Frelia

Interlude - Frelia

* * *

 _Surprisingly, after that brief stop at Serafew, we found no detours. We simply made our careful way from Serafew to Frelia, and once there, the border guards welcomed us gladly, and escorted us all the way to the castle, with barely any question about how our little group more than doubled in size. I suspected Seth sent Vanessa ahead with a message or something._

 _But we're back. Mission success. Huzzah._

* * *

"Welcome back, everyone!" Tana's cheerful voice greeted us scant seconds after we crossed the castle's gates. Her enthusiastic hugs followed, and she hugged even those she didn't know at all, to most everyone's amusement. "And welcome to those who have never been here!" she cheered, giving us a bright, warm smile. "Ah, I'm so glad you've returned, safe and sound. I've been praying every day."

"It's wonderful to return, Tana," Eirika replied. She smiled sweetly and nudged Prince Ephraim. "You. Be polite."

"I thought I was by attempting to let you two catch up," Prince Ephraim noted dryly. He sighed, but smiled at Tana. "I'm sorry to have worried you."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Tana replied. Her face went a rather pretty pink, and her smile brightened. I glanced around to avoid being blinded by it, and noticed how most of the group had already gone into the castle. Only I remained to hover awkwardly by the three royals. Even Brynhildr and the other mounts had been led off. "Just… really glad."

"Well, it's good to see you as well, though I'm surprised you're here to greet us so promptly." He shrugged, glancing around. "I know Seth sent a message ahead, but…"

"Well, truthfully, you guys are earlier than expected. I was actually waiting for Innes. He's due back soon as well." Bells began ringing, as if on cue. "Oh, there he is. The guards were instructed to ring the bells for Innes, as a means of reassuring our people."

"That's… some timing there." All of us jumped as the doors to the castle gate opened. "Did he wait for us or something? He literally showed up right behind us!"

"Who knows?" She shrugged and rushed for the gates, where a young man with King Hayden's hair color, dressed finely and carrying an even finer bow, stood. "Welcome home, dear brother!" She nearly tackled him off his feet with a hug, which he returned after a moment of awkward stiffness. "Ah, I'm so happy to see you've returned safe. You're not hurt, are you?"

"Me? As if," the man, Prince Innes, instantly scoffed. He looked rather annoyed by the thought. "You didn't expect anything less, did you?"

"I didn't know _what_ to expect. This is a war, after all. I'm not so naive that I'd believe we'll automatically succeed, though as always, I have faith in your abilities." She pulled away, and gave him a sulky look. "So many weird things have happened. My 'invincible' brother getting in trouble is a weird thing."

"As if I'd let anything happen to me. The people depend on us, and the last thing we need is you sobbing all over the place."

"Ugh, would it kill you to be nice?" She scowled, but went back to smiles as she snagged his hand and tugged him forward. "Look! Look who's back too!"

"I have eyes, Tana." Prince Innes looked annoyed as she continued to drag him all the way to where Ephraim and Eirika were. And me, awkwardly hanging out near because I didn't know where to go or what to do. "I do not need to be dragged."

"Ah, some things never change," Eirika laughed. She smiled warmly. "Hello, Innes. Well met!"

"Well met, Eirika, Ephraim," Prince Innes replied. He held himself almost stiffly, like he wasn't quite sure what to do. I remembered hearing how Prince Innes had thrown himself so much into his duties that he lacked people skills. "I heard of Renais's fall. I believe I warned you two once that your defenses were too weak. This happened because you gave Grado the opportunity to strike." I could believe it if _that_ was how he talked to old friends.

"Innes!" Tana _instantly_ scolded. She even whacked him on the shoulder. "Not even two seconds, and already we're going with harsh words?!"

"It's nothing more than the truth." Prince Innes sighed, fixing her with a droll expression. "Tensions between the countries have been increasing. I will admit to being surprised it came from Grado, but the fact remains that this war has been brewing for years. I warned you, Ephraim, and you dismissed it."

"So I did," Prince Ephraim agreed. He'd gone completely stoic. "Though, I believe I dismissed it while stating I had faith in our army. If it had been anyone but Grado, I have little doubts we would've held onto our defenses long enough to call for reinforcements."

"A faith that was used against you. I've heard a traitorous knight rules Castle Renais now." The words made me freeze, and Eirika glanced over at me worriedly. "Some fool who sold out his country for nothing more than a fairy tale. It's almost as baffling as it is nauseating, the lengths people go to delude themselves."

"Innes, say what you will to me. It's a relief, even, that so much as changed, yet you remain the same. But…" Ephraim's eyes narrowed slightly, not quite a glower, but the impression of anger. Eirika took a step towards me, and distantly, I realized why he was angry. He was angry on _my_ behalf, and I… "Mind your tongue on that front."

"I'm simply-"

"He's simply speaking the truth, Prince Ephraim," I made myself say. I managed a small smile, one that felt both stiff and gentle. I could almost laugh. I'd told Tana that her brother reminded me of me, and here was the proof. But I didn't have the energy to be amused. I didn't have the energy to be anything. It was… just a thing. It was just a thing to be acknowledged. "Orson _is_ an idiot, if he thinks that whatever doll he has is actually my sister." My smile faltered as Prince Innes frowned. Tana looked guilty, and I couldn't stand it. It wasn't any of their faults. "But, regardless, you four have quite a bit to catch up on, and here I am awkwardly hanging on. I'll go find my room or something. It's been a long day."

Eirika reached out for me, but I stepped back and turned away, heading down the hall. A quick question to a passing maid had me set up in a room, with a bath, before long. I quickly took that bath and collapsed onto the bed, the too soft bed with far too many pillows and scented with sandalwood. I curled onto my side, the pillows getting damp from my hair. I hadn't really bothered drying off before getting in. I'd barely found the energy to get dressed in some sort of clothes.

I sighed heavily, curling into myself. My eyes burned like they wanted to cry, but no tears came. Between the fighting, the nightmares, and Orson, I'd cried all my tears. So, instead, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep when anyone came knocking. A few did. At one point, the door actually opened, and I heard someone come in. I kept my eyes closed and my breathing regular, even as the smell of frankincense wafted over me, and only opened my eyes again when I heard the door click shut and footsteps walk away.

When I did, I noticed a tiny vial on the nightstand, along with a note that just said: ' _Have some susinum. I've a couple of vials, so you keep one. It's a soothing scent, isn't it?'_. I couldn't help but smile as I unstopped it and the wonderful smell washed over me. I closed my eyes, and could easily imagine one of Mom's hugs, and one of Monica's, since the smell had always been in our house.

It _was_ a soothing scent, far more so than the sandalwood. I'd thank him for it, later.

* * *

Eventually, I did manage to actually get to sleep, and in fact, slept in to a ridiculous hour. Breakfast and lunch had come and gone by the time I woke up, and someone had left me some sliced fruit to nibble on as I got dressed. Afterwards, I wandered the halls, wondering just what I was supposed to do. Not just today, but in general. I'd tagged along with Eirika to find Orson and scold Prince Ephraim. I'd done the former, and… well, I supposed I'd sort of done the latter as well, though it hadn't been nearly as angry or anything as I'd expected. I'd _expected_ to say a bunch of things to earn 'questions', but… but that didn't happen. Orson's betrayal had changed everything, and I wondered what I was going to do now. There was no home to return to, and there was certainly no goal. Fighting wasn't a thing I liked by any means. I might know how now, but if anything, everything had simply made me certain I never wanted to fight again. There was so much going on now. I just wanted to crawl under the blankets and never wake up.

But I had friends again. Did I just leave them? Would it be better for them, and me, if I stayed behind? I had _no_ idea. But then there was those strange words that Myrrh girl had said. 'I think they need you.' Did they? And if they did, was it right to leave them be? Was it _healthy_ for me just to go for their sake? I had no idea.

"Oh, Emma!" Tana's chipper voice startled me, and I whirled in time to see her skip out of a room and come over to me. "Perfect timing! I was wondering if you'd like to go flying with me."

"Flying?" I repeated, surprised. It took me a second to even process what was going on. "Really?"

"Yeah!" She beamed up at me. "They won't let me go without an 'escort', you see, and I've been going stir-crazy with nothing to do. Achaeus, my pegasus, has almost kicked in the stable door twice because _he_ is tired of being grounded."

"If your Achaeus doesn't mind a wyvern, then I'm sure Brynhildr won't mind." Flying… flying sounded _amazing_. "Yeah, let's go."

"Great!" She linked arms with me, and led me down the hall. "Oh, gods, I'm glad. Everyone's in a war meeting, and they won't let me sit in, but Vanessa and Syrene are in it."

"That explains where everyone is." I wondered if they'd let me sit in, but decided against continuing the thought. Flying sounded _much_ better. "Will they let us go?"

"We might need to pout and bat our eyes a bit." She grinned. "But so long as we don't go far, we'll be fine!"

It did, in fact, take multiple bits of pouting and cajoling before the guards let us go for a flight. Even then, we were required to armor and arm up before leaving. But soon, we were up in the air, and any annoyance I might've felt was left behind on the ground. The sheer exhilaration of being in flight replaced everything, and I instantly felt better among the clouds. The way Tanna laughed hinted she felt the same. The two of us almost instinctively started to race, letting the wind blast us in the face. My face was chapped and stinging, but I couldn't stop smiling.

"This was a good idea!" I called after a moment. I had to almost yell to be heard. "Everything just seems so much better up here!"

"It's good for clearing the head!" she agreed. She grinned up at me, having flown her pegasus lower. "Unfortunately, though, I think we're heading a little far out!"

"Better turn back, then!" I bend down low over Brynhildr's neck, and she made to turn back… but then I caught sight of something odd. A shadow that did not match the direction of the clouds. So, I looked up, and froze when I realized what it was. Wyverns. We had wyvern knights above us, and they have their javelins… aimed right… for us…

Brynhildr suddenly _screeched_ , loud enough that I winced and had to reach up to make sure my ears weren't bleeding. The wyverns above jerked back, as if startled, and that made their riders drop their javelins instead of throwing them, giving Brynhildr and Achaeus plenty of time to dodge out of the way, with Achaeus going _down_ , and Brynhildr going _up_. She soared past the and flipped around, twisting so that the sun was directly behind me and they flinched when they tried to keep sight of me. And failed.

'No one lies with the sun in their eyes.' And no one kept their guard up either. That was why Jehannans prayed to the God of the Sun before battle.

Brynhildr and I crashed into one and I barely held onto my lance as it struck through not only the rider, but into the wyvern as well. Both made little yelp-squeaks in shock before their last gasps escaped. Blood splattered Brynhildr and me both as I jerked the lance out, and the blood rained down as both rider and wyvern fell. A second yelp made me turn, and I saw Tana had killed the other wyvern rider, sneaking up underneath to slit the wyverns belly before her Achaeus simply smashed the rider's face in with his hooves. Blood splattered her too and she sat there limply, dumbfounded. The blood dripped down and she just watched it slide down her hands and arms.

"Tana?" I called. It took a moment for clarity to fill her eyes, and even then, she looked over at me slowly and stiffly. "You guys set up patrols, right? How did they get around them?"

"I've… heard that wyverns can fly at higher altitudes that pegasi," she said softly. The words were mush, but I flew a little closer so that I It can play a factor in how wyverns are stronger than pegasi. I don't think they can do it for _long_ , but maybe they…"

"They literally flew over the patrols, using the clouds as cover." Why did enemies have to be brilliant? Why did allies have to overlook things? "We have to get back. Scouts mean an army."

"And if they let us out, and no one has come looking for us, it means that this army is about to ambush us." She took a deep, shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and nodded. "Follow me. Achaeus is faster, and he knows the way."

"I'm right behind you."

The two of us flew up high as we rushed back, with me going even higher just in case. Neither of us laughed or smiled. Instead, we remained in grim silence, the wind spreading the blood splattered across us, to the point that a few droplets trailed after us. I shivered, cold, but I held onto Brynhildr's saddle tightly, and tried to pretend the blood was something else. Water, for instance, or syrup. I _had_ once gotten syrup spilled on me thanks to a prank Jacob pulled when we were little. Unfortunately, the 'linking' just made me decide I never wanted to see syrup again. Or any sort of red flower petal, since that's what the droplets looked like when they flew off.

As we made our descent into Frelia's courtyard, both Tana and I leaned down to undo the straps keeping us secure in the saddle. Unfortunately, Brynhildr made a hard landing, so I nearly tumbled off, but I caught myself in time and swung down, scratching her behind the eye ridge before striding forward and into the castle proper. The guards yelped and simply ducked away from me, not even bothering to stop me. Instead, they went to Tana, leaving me to snag a servant to point me to the War Council. I wasn't sure whether it was something about my demeanor or the fact that I was blood splattered, but the very first one I grabbed squeaked and instantly obeyed, babbling something about the tapestries on the wall that I didn't pay attention to. A few made to intercept us, but they veered out of the path when I glowered. A couple of guards even jumped over tables to make sure they didn't block the path.

When we made it to the room, the servant lifted their hand, ready to knock. I just went right on past and pushed open the doors, walking in as the servant yelped and said _something_ about 'needing to be announced'. Everyone in the room leapt to their feet, and quite a few, mostly strangers, looked outraged. Those who I knew looked confused for a split second before they looked just _alarmed_. A couple, like Joshua and Eirika, even stepped towards me, but I ignored them, locking eyes with King Hayden at the head of the table, Prince Ephraim and Prince Innes on either side of him. He watched me calmly, his expression like stone, as if he was trying to figure out how best to proceed.

"Tana and I encountered Grado scouts while out for a flight," I declared into the sudden silence. _Everyone's_ expressions became alarmed then and whisperings and murmurings filled the air. "We killed the some, but if there's scouts, there's an army. And I doubt the scouts were more than half a day in front of their forces, so you _might_ want to move it."

"So, they're launching a frontal assault on the castle?" Prince Ephraim whispered. He kept his cool even as the room began dissolving into frantic chaos. "Well, didn't expect them to do _that_."

"Given the information Eirika and you just delivered, it is safe to assume that they're heading to the Tower of Valni," Prince Innes added, closing his eyes. "First-Queen Valni built it to house the Sacred Stone. It's never been a secret, though I dearly wish it was now."

"Then they're going to be _here_ to make sure we can't send reinforcements." Prince Ephraim frowned. "Front or rear?"

"Rear. I need to coordinate the archers. We'll be dealing with quite a few fliers."

"Then I'll take the front." Prince Ephraim stood, and turned to King Hayden. "With your permission, sir?"

"I know better than to stop either of you, especially when someone needs to coordinate evacuations for the civilians," King Hayden murmured. He fixed the whole room with a _look_ , and every single person froze. I was startled and impressed. "So, I shall tend to our people. Everyone, sit down again so that we can assign roles. Dame Emma?" He looked directly at me, and I almost thought he was smiling. "Might you sit between Ephraim and Eirika? I fear we will require your wyvern's assistance with those evacuations, so I would like to know directly what you can and cannot do."

"...Very well," I replied. I felt rather self-conscious, especially as everyone shifted down one seat at the table to make room for me. After all, who was I to sit on a War Council like this? ...Then again, who was I to just barge into a meeting like this?

So, I sat down in the offered seat, unconsciously wiping some of the blood off my face. Eirika poked my leg and passed me a handkerchief to use, and she gave me a reassuring smile before focusing again on the talks. I gave her a smile in return and tried my best to keep calm, even as other people glanced at me with a 'who the hell is this girl?' looks.

I had a job to do. I had to see it through.

* * *

"Easy, easy…" I murmured, stroking a crying little boy's hair as I let him sob into my shoulder. Grado's attack on Serton had hit _hard_ , and the number of civilian casualties was high and climbing higher with every second. The little boy had watched his mother be skewered and thrown into the air, blood flying everywhere. "I have you. I have you. I'll make sure you and your sister get to safety." I'd managed to dart in before the soldiers could fall on the children, and I had him curled up in front of me, while his older sister clung to my back, also sobbing. I wished I could reassure her too, but she had begged me to focus on her brother. She just wanted to cry, so I let her. "Just a little… more… there!"

Brynhildr swung behind the protective archer lines King Hayden set up, and commanded, on the walls and landed neatly in the courtyard. I quickly passed the two to a waiting Moulder and Natasha, who took charge of them, and I dismounted to let someone else check Brynhildr over. She and I had gotten clipped by some fire spells while on patrol, though I'd escaped most of the damage. So, I instead went to where King Hayden was coordinating the archers on the ramparts, the only reason why they hadn't gotten inside the castle yet.

"So, I'm very curious why Emperor Vigarde didn't put Valter down like the damn rabid beast he is," I growled as soon as I was close enough. The whole reason why the attack was so brutal, and the civilians were in danger, was because Valter and General Glen led the assault. Or, to be more accurate, Valter assaulted anything that moved while General Glen was tied up fighting off Prince Ephraim. "I don't suppose you know?"

"Sadly, no, except that he wasn't always like this," King Hayden murmured. He snapped his fingers to signal another hail of arrows, and glanced at me. "But that's the extent."

"A nice dog that goes rabid is still rabid. And in _this_ case, it's costing us bunches of civilians." I sighed, reaching back to pull my hair into a ponytail. It had been in a bun but it had fallen out due to how quickly I'd had to go to get the brother and sister. "I managed another two, but I lost six others. At least."

"...We're getting horribly close to half of the people dead or injured." He closed his eyes and snapped his fingers again. I wondered if any arrows hit, but it was impossible to tell. The view below was too muddy and bloody to tell, and there was so much screaming that you just blocked the sound out entirely. "Gods, have mercy on us."

"Is praying going to work?"

"It worked for our ancestors." He shook his head and smiled at me. "Regardless, thank you. Please rest for now. You've done over twenty patrols."

"They're less likely to shoot at a wyvern, even one that stands out like my Brynhildr." I rolled my shoulders, though, feeling stiffness starting to creep in. I was so gods _damned_ exhausted from all of this. "But I think I will, at least, see a healer now."

"Thank you." He turned his attention away and snapped again, this time twice in quick succession. I didn't bother to stick around to see what that signal meant, besides more arrows. I didn't need to know.

I found Natasha before long, in a large room not far from the courtyard, and she healed me right up before giving me some sort of tea that was supposedly good for restoring energy. Tasted of ginseng and ginger, with some odd licorice sort of aftertaste. I noticed she had made a damn large batch and was preparing even more in the odd bits of free time she had. I sat near while I slowly drank the tea, wondering if there was anything I could do for her. I thought about fetching her some fresh clothes; her own were so blood stained I almost thought she'd donned a crimson dress instead of her normal clothes. She had blood matted in her hair… honestly, only her hands seemed devoid of blood. Instead, they looked dry, like she'd washed them too much.

"Natasha?" I called. She glanced over at me curiously, and I made sure to smile. "No offense, but you kind of look like you need this tea more than me."

"I had some earlier, truthfully," she admitted, grinding up some herbs. She glanced around, but no one else in the room was paying attention. "I'm working on making more as a break."

"Is it one?"

"It's very soothing, actually. It's not much easier on my body, but…" Again, she glanced around and urged me to come a little closer. "It is my spirit that needs rest, more than my body. It's a trick I learned."

"I guess being a healer requires a certain mentality, just like a soldier." I kept my smile up for her. "Well, in that case, I won't try to prod you into stopping. But is there anything you need? I'm on 'break'."

"Oh, good. I was worried you were going to overwork." She smiled sweetly. "Those two siblings will be fine, physically."

"That's all I can pray for." Watching family die sucked. "Still, though, is there anything I can do?"

"Right now?" She fell silent, carefully measuring out bits of the herbs to mix together. "Honestly, I could do with a song."

"A normal one or a Prayer?" I was hesitant in singing a Prayer Song, truthfully, but considering everything… well, King Hayden was right. It didn't hurt us to pray a bit when we were under _siege_. "I'm good with either."

"Mmm… can I be greedy and ask for both?" She laughed softly and I grinned. "After all… AH!"

Three blinks. One blink, Natasha screamed, eyes going wide as she dropped pestle into the mortar. Two blinks, other soldiers were reacting as an arrow flew towards us, the tip glinting in the sunlight. Three blinks, Joshua was in front of Natasha, twisting to try and minimize the damage to him while still keeping her safe.

The arrow hit Joshua in the shoulder with a strangely loud 'thud', and everything whirled into life.

"They've gotten through!" I snapped, lurching to my feet. As Natasha fussed over Joshua, I snatched up a nearby lance and headed towards the wall, where the arrow had come from. Other soldiers yelled and raced for there too, while others fell back and headed inside. "Warn King Hayden! Guard the infirmary!" I had no idea why I was the one snapping orders. I was just thinking of what _needed_ to be done right now. But they obeyed and I hit the stairs heading up the wall at a dead sprint, taking them three at a time. An archer wearing red and black armor was right there, looking almost spooked before they ran and jumped off the wall. For a second, I wondered if they'd committed suicide, but then a wyvern rushed past, with two riders. In a split second, I decided that I wasn't going to let them get away. I was going after them, if only to make sure that arrow wasn't poisoned. "Brynhildr!"

My Brynhildr answered my call with a war cry of her own and it wasn't long at all before she swooped near and I jumped on, taking after the two of them. My eyes watered from the wind blasting my face, and I had to hold on tightly with both my legs and my free hand since I didn't have the time to strap myself in. One slip, one bit of weakness… and I was going to fall.

Higher and higher we went, faster and faster. They tried sharp turns and sudden drops to throw me off. But Brynhildr and I kept on them. They threw a javelin and it clipped my cheek. But Brynhildr and I kept on them. The archer shot arrows at us and we had to weave to avoid getting him. But Brynhildr and I kept on them.

They stopped and turned suddenly, like they expected Brynhildr to jerk back and stop. But she knew what I wanted, and so, we kept on going. So, by the time they realized that we weren't going to stop, it was too late.

Brynhildr's teeth latched onto the other wyvern's neck and tore out a large, bloody chunk. The wyvern gurgled once before it started to drop, dead. She snatched it, though, keeping it and the two riders aloft. I leaned forward almost casually, as if my legs and arms weren't screaming from sheer pain, and smiled slightly as they both stared at me with wide eyes.

"Clever trick, I suppose," I told them lightly. I felt an anger different to what I normally felt. Normally, my temper burned and sparked like a fire, but this anger was all ice and frost. If I were any colder, I'd swear I could see my breath. "But you not only nearly killed a healer, but you targeted one of my dear friends, and _did_ shoot my 'big brother'." My smile widened, but it didn't feel like a smile. It felt like I was baring my teeth, much like Brynhildr when she growled. "So, you're going to come with me for questioning, right? Your other option is for Brynhildr to drop you, and I promise you, you will not survive a fall from this height." I purposely let my lance fall from my hand, just so that they could see how small it got, and how far up we were. "So?"

I waited. I waited patiently. My muscles screamed, but I held myself perfectly still, just waiting. Waiting. More waiting. Finally, though, the two reluctantly nodded, and dropped their weapons too. I leaned forward and took the quiver of arrows from the archer before clicking my tongue. Brynhildr, noticeably reluctant, did shift so that she could carry the dead wyvern, and the two riders, back towards the castle.

King Hayden met me in the courtyard, and he looked almost amused as Brynhildr dropped the wyvern corpse right in front of him before landing next to the bloody mess and letting me dismount. "I must say; I expected you alone, but it seems you like going above the call of duty," he half-teased. He signaled someone, and I noticed Gilliam and Garcia actually step up to secure the new prisoners. "You were supposed to be on break."

"Well, I'm going to go back 'on break' and check on Natasha and Joshua," I joked. I winced as my legs reminded me they _really_ didn't appreciate the recent exercise. "And limp. A lot. Remind me to tell Tana to _never do that_."

"Please do." He cracked enough to smile and laugh a little before turning his attention to the prisoners. "Well, well, what _are_ we going to do with you two?"

I debated sticking around, but instead, gave Brynhildr to a nearby healer and headed to a room not far away. However, when I got there, I ended up lingering in the doorway, not quite wanting to interrupt them. There was a warmth to the air that reminded me of Orson and Monica, but not… quite the same. A hint of that same warmth.

"Ah, this could've been so bad," Natasha murmured. Her hands were steady as she wrapped a bandage around Joshua's shoulder. _He_ was shirtless and sitting perfectly still, letting her work. Both were sitting in simple chairs, with various medical balms and supplies scattered on the table behind them. "Thank goodness you were near."

"Oh, it was nothing much," Joshua dismissed, waving the words away. He reached over and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, so that she could see a little easier. "I just happened to be around."

"You make light of it, but you very much did save my life, and spared Emma a nasty shock." She smiled sweetly at him as she still continued to bandage. "I truly appreciate it."

"Uh… well…" Joshua glanced away briefly, pink dusting his face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine. Thanks to you." She sighed. "I should have been more attentive to my surroundings."

"Well, you were tired, right? And enjoying a conversation to settle yourself after fighting hell. I saw the infirmary." He smiled slightly. "It's not always easy. But, hey, I could keep an eye for you?"

"Pardon?"

"You do your healing thing, and I keep an eye on you. That's my suggestion, at least."

"Oh…" Natasha's face went a little red. "Oh, I couldn't possibly ask for you to spend all your time protecting me."

"Don't want me to then?"

"That's not it, exactly. I rather like your company and…" Her face went redder, though she tried to hide it by tying off the bandage. "N-never mind."

"..." Joshua's smile grew. "Say, you want to make another bet?"

"Another one?" Even though her face was just getting redder, her expression was almost droll. "Now?"

"Why not? It's a simple one." Joshua distinctly looked like the cat that caught the canary, and got a bowl of cream with it. "I bet you're going to fall for me."

"...What?!" Natasha's voice went squeaky. "You… you seriously…!"

"Yep, that's my bet. I'm wagering 'yes' personally…"

"That is… you are…" Natasha went redder and redder, and started fidgeting before she suddenly paused. "Wait, you're only joking to try and keep me from thanking and apologizing more, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not really joking?" Now it was Joshua's turn to look away, apparently not expecting her to see through him that quickly. As he did, he caught sight of me in the doorway, and I waved, biting back a smile. "Oh, petal, welcome back! Did you get the bastard that shot me?"

"He is currently King Hayden's honored 'guest' along with his wyvern knight friend, brother," I explained, stepping inside and sitting on the floor at their feet. "They also had to deal with being carried with a dead wyvern. Brynhildr's the best. But I might need a bit of healing, if you're done teasing Natasha silly."

It still took a little bit before Natasha calmed down enough to actually give me a check up. I giggled the whole time, watching Joshua's reactions, and I decided that he hadn't been really joking. I wasn't quite sure how serious he'd been, but he hadn't been _joking_ either. It was an in-between sort of thing, more of him being like 'you interest me so much and I would like to see where this goes'.

Jehannans hid a lot behind their smiles and jokes, and sadly, most of the meaning was lost in the cheerful shields. I'd talk to Natasha about it at a later day, to make sure there was no miscommunication. After all, they _were_ rather cute.

* * *

I hung out with the two of them for a time, before Natasha was called back to the infirmary to take over for an exhausted Moulder, and Joshua actually returned to the front lines, on 'lesser duty' due to the injury to his shoulder. I'd reported to King Hayden, and did a couple of quick patrols to make sure we didn't have any more sneaky assassins. Afterwards, I was left to be 'on standby' and wandered, wondering what else I could do. It felt wrong to not do anything when _people were dying_. It had been far too many hours, or at least it felt like hours, since the siege began. Honestly, it felt like days or years, but I knew night hadn't fallen yet, so it compressed to simply 'hours'. But it was long. How did people fight this much?

"You need to not walk there." The voice startled me from my thoughts, and I stepped back before turning to see Prince Innes standing near. His eyes were narrowed as he surveyed the battle below. "Damn that beast…" he growled. Curious, I moved beside him and noticed Valter, recognizably by the stringy teal hair, flying over the field, blood dripping off him. Smoke was rising up, hinting that fires had just started. "Damn him."

"Shit, is that why your dad refuses to let me go look for more civilians?" I asked. He gave me an annoyed look, but I ignored it. "Gods, I hope we got most of them, but I somehow doubt it. What's the civilians injury count?"

"Over fifty percent are dead or injured. Our healers are so overworked that they are sincerely having to choose between saving civilians, who should not have been involved in this, or our soldiers, who are our only defense." Prince Innes crossed his arms, but the way he dug his fingers into his bicep made me wonder if he really just wanted to punch something. "Almost all of the civilian casualties are his fault. I'm trying to determine his pattern to get a shot off, but he moves too erratically."

"Is that so?" I watched Valter fly for a moment, and an idea formed in my head. It… wasn't an idea I liked, and it made my mouth go dry, but I thought of those siblings. I thought of all the civilians. I… "Where… does Valter have to be for you to get a good, clear shot?"

"What?" He gave me an almost dirty look. "I can hit him anywhere."

"But what spot will give you your best shot?" I gave him a serious look in return. "Where do I need… to lead him?"

He stared at me a long moment, as if he wasn't sure how trustworthy I was. But eventually, he pointed to the nearby treeline, slightly away from where Valter was flying now. "Get him there, and I'll have him down in four arrows, maximum."

"Okay." My stomach was in knots. "I'll get him there."

"...I don't know whether you're a fool or a very brave woman."

"Oh, I'm an idiot. But I'm an idiot who can use that stupidity to her advantage. I think." I smiled slightly. "Just… ah… be ready? If he catches me, I'm going to deal with a lot of things far worse than death."

"Do you part, and I will do mine."

"Right." I hesitated, glancing at Valter again and feeling the sudden urge to cry or something. But, instead I dragged up all my courage and ran off, heading to where Brynhildr rested in the courtyard. She knew something was up instantly, and she seemed to know it was a stupid idea as she fixed me with a 'dear gods, what am I going to have to do to keep you from nearly dying _this_ time?' look. But she slowly pushed herself up and let me saddle her. After triple checking that I was strapped in, and that I had a lance hooked onto the saddle too, we took off into the skies, starting up as if we were just going on another patrol. Then, feeling like I was about to faint or throw up, I urged Brynhildr to coast near Valter.

"Ah… so much fun…!" Valter's cackle was easy to hear on the wind. I wished it wasn't. "That Ephraim fellow knows how to fight a good fight, but Eirika…" He licked his lips, eyes glinting. I glanced down to see Eirika fighting alongside Colm, or so I guessed by the hair colors. We really were too far up to make out details. "Strong and fierce… just to sort of prey I dream of… my blood _rushes_ at the thought…" He grinned suddenly, and I was reminded of the last time I'd seen him. That memory, and the fear I felt with it, nearly made me reel back. Nearly made me scream or sob or both. "My perfect prey, and I can even see what that little Ephraim would do! Would he break or go mad? The answer would be delightful!" I didn't want to be near this man. I did _not_ want to do this.

But this madman was the greatest danger, not because of any skill or strength but because he specifically went after anything that bled. General Glen, wherever the hell he was, at least attacked soldiers and was a 'controlled' danger. He was someone who could be reasonably trusted, for an enemy. But Valter wasn't and, worse, Valter had his sights on Eirika, and _by the gods, he wasn't touching her while I drew breath_!

"Well, hello there!" I called, using all my courage to make sure it wasn't squeaky. Valter paused and turned stiffly towards me, like he couldn't believe someone was addressing him. "Wow, it looks like your face has recovered." I emulated Mom's cocky smirk as Valter turned his mad eyes towards me. "How bad were the blisters? And the shoulder?"

"Oh, it's you…" he murmured. He then started laughing, and I had to fight to not throw up from fear. I remembered last time. I knew what he'd planned. Yet here I was, risking it, because… "Ah, the pretty, pretty girl with blood in her hair and eyes… so many targets…" He glanced down at Eirika, and then back at me. "Who to pick, who to pick? I want both."

"Well, I know that if you want me, you'll have to catch me." I made the smirk widened, and he stiffened, eyes focusing entirely on me. This was bad. This was very bad. Well, it was good for the plan, but bad for me. " _If_ you're up for a hunt."

"...You. You are too tempting, just as before!" He kicked his wyvern's side, like he was spurring a horse, and only the fact that I was on Brynhildr saved me. _She_ reacted as Valter lunged, dropping under before pushing up and away. "You dodged?" He laughed, clearly delighted. I felt nauseous. "I shall break you!"

"You can try!" Of course, my mouth decided to keep on running, so I bit my lip hard enough to bleed in an effort to keep silent and leaned over Brynhildr as she took off, flying high to lead Valter out of formation and towards those trees.

He followed. While that was great for the plan, it wasn't all that lovely for my panic. I felt like I was going to throw up or faint. It was so hard to breathe. A couple of times, he skirted in close and I had to duck to avoid his reaching hands. A few times, he kept his distance, leering at me with a very clear look of 'this is too entertaining to end now'. Once, he lashed out with his lance, catching me clear across the back, actually ripping the armor off of me, and when I glanced back, I saw him actually lick the blood off the lance, smirking as the crimson marked his lips like a twisted lipstick.

I was literally taunting a madman in the hopes that Prince Innes could shoot him down with no guarantee that I could outrun him long enough, or that Prince Innes could even make the shot, much less make the shot in _time_. Gods, Mom must be screaming at me from beyond the grave for inheriting Dad's idiocy. I certainly was.

Brynhildr growled under me, and I looked to find that we were over the treeline, in the spot Innes had indicated. I grit my teeth and bent down a little lower over her neck, hoping that it wouldn't be much longer. Half-a-second later, I was hoping I'd keep my arm, as his wyvern came up beside us suddenly and lashed out with its teeth. I shrieked, instinctively trying to pull away, but the wyvern wouldn't let go, and I sincerely wondered if I'd die like this. It would… well, it would be bad. My friends would cry. But as Valter leaned over the side, mouth still red from my blood, and grinned madly, I decided it would be a better fate.

"I caught you, pretty one," he hissed. One hand caressed my cheek as he leaned in even closer. His too hot, horribly smelling breath hit my face, and I half wondered if _that_ would be what would tip me over into fainting. Fear, pain, and blood loss competed with it, of course, but gods, his breath was rank. "Now, then… what will break first? Your spirit or your body? I'm so curious. And you're close to the twins, yes? I wonder how _they_ would react."

"Well, you can shove your curiosity," I retorted. My vision was wavering. The wyvern still have my arm. I reached my free one over, and almost undid my straps, so that I could just jump off, before deciding to undo his, the one closest to me. I still had at least a little fight left in me, it seemed. "You may also stuff your supposed victory. I'm not caught _yet_."

I pushed him, twice. The first did nothing but amuse him, as he even caught my hand and mocking kissed the back of it before letting go. On the second, though, Brynhildr threw her weight to the side with me, putting her bulk behind the force, and that got him to jerk back. Brynhildr then lashed out with her claws, catching his wyvern under the neck, which made it release my arm. My vision blackened and greyed from the pain, and I instinctively pressed my hand against the injury, grimacing at how torn and ragged the wound felt under all the slickness, watching as Valter tried to settle his balance again. Brynhildr's weight had been enough for me to push him half out of the saddle, thanks to undoing half of the bindings, but his eyes were still so mad, glittering with lust and rage as he snarled, bringing his lance up.

Then an arrow caught him in the shoulder, making him drop the lance. It tumbled below, sparkling in the sunlight before disappearing into the chaos of the battlefield. A second arrow caught him in the collarbone, making him jerk back further. He actually fall out of the saddle, staying on only thanks to the straps that still held him on, a loud _crack_ hinting his leg had broken from the force. A third arrow caught his wyvern in the wing, and down they went, awkwardly spiraling as his wyvern desperately tried to control the descent.

I turned my attention back to the castle walls and barely saw Prince Innes's silhouette on it, looking as if there was a fourth arrow notched and waiting. I raised my bloody hand and waved, and he brought his hand up and down again twice, a sign that he knew it had worked. I smiled, relieved, and then started coughing as my stomach rebelled. My hand pressed against my injury, and my vision went a hazy sort of grey as I bent over, wondering if I could at least trying to puke on some Grado soldiers, if I was going to have to throw up from way up here. I didn't want to hit an _ally_ , after all.

I looked down, curious, and then stiffened as I noticed something damn… something. Based on the hair, and clothes, Prince Ephraim was right under me and, tempting as it might be to puke _on_ him for all the worry he'd given Eirika, he was also surrounded by five enemies with no one near. Except for me. Gods, _why me_?

I clicked my tongue and Brynhildr dove, pulling her wings back to maximize her speed. I grit my teeth as I felt the straps strain to hold me in, forced to bear the full force since I simply couldn't hold onto the saddle. One arm was ruined, and I was trying to keep pressure on the wound with the other. Brynhildr knew it too, and tilted slightly so that we weren't going _quite_ as fast. Unfortunately, though, speed was of the essence, especially as I saw Prince Ephraim lose his footing in the bloody mud and the soldiers had their lances aimed for his back and chest...

"Brynhildr…" I hissed. She knew what I wanted instinctively and _screeched_ , the sound loud enough to make my ears ring. It startled the soldiers below, and left them easy pickings for Brynhildr to strike. She landed on one, the force of the impact enough to snap their spine, based on the sickening _crack_ I heard. Her front claws lashed out, slipping under the chest plates of the two closest to shred their torso. A fourth didn't even have to suffer; Brynhildr bit their head off, literally, shaking her head sharply to send the body flying.

"Emma?" Prince Ephraim recovered before the last soldier, and he skewered them before facing me. "Well, that was… dramatic," he noted lightly. He smiled slightly and I gave him a 'what the hell' look. "Thank you."

"You'd better climb on now." I kept my voice as dry as possible. "The hell are you doing out here anyway?"

"Fighting."

"Not what I meant." My vision was going again. I wasn't sure if I wanted to faint or not. Fainting on a battlefield was bad, but this dizzy tunnel thing was getting old fast. "Get. On."

"Right, right." He climbed on behind me, and barely got a grip on me before Brynhildr launched herself up. The force was almost enough to make me black out, with everything. "I was holding the line while some soldiers dragged some injured back. I went a little far, though."

"You got yourself surrounded." I dragged myself out of the tunnel and gripped the saddle tightly. Brynhildr worked on getting us out of range of archers. "That's more than a 'little far'."

"I did, and I was coming up with a way to escape when you showed up. Being the only target can work to your advantage. I was planning on ducking when I lost my footing." He sounded so logical that I was tempted, sorely tempted, to knock him off. "Still, you did save me a lot of effort and injuries, so I thank you and… and what the _hell_ did you do to your arm?"

"Prince Innes and I worked out a plan to take out Valter, I was the bait, and his wyvern decided to try and rip my arm off." Pain made my voice thin. I was not going to last much longer. "Then I saw _you_ , but clearly, I wasn't needed."

"...You…" He trailed off and didn't say anything. Instead, I heard a strange ripping sound, and then my vision went grey and white as he gently pried my hand off the wound. I nearly snapped at him, but then I noticed he was wrapping a torn cloth around the injury. It took me a second to realize the cloth was from his cape. "Your back is bleeding. Did you go out without armor?"

"No, I had it. He just ripped it off." This time, I watched as he ripped his cape to shreds, creating makeshift bandages to wrap around my torso. When he couldn't get a good rip, he used his lance, somehow not dropping it. "You… didn't need to do that."

"You're injured, and worse, you didn't seek immediate attention because of me. I'd say I more than need to do that. It's just a cape. I'm sure King Hayden's got ten or a thousand I can borrow. I only wear one because Father does… did." He frowned, tying two strips together to make sure they could go around me. I glanced around, making sure we were safe, and noticed Byrnhildr had gone _high_ , above even the pegasus knights. "So, you're the reason why Valter suddenly went down."

"I taunted him. Prince Innes shot him."

"Still, you did that and, bleeding profusely, you went down to rescue me." He tied off the bandage, and started used the last few to reinforce the 'bandage' on my arm. "That's…"

"Impressed?"

"Impressed? I think I'm in love."

"Aw, so sweet." I couldn't help but laugh, though. It was far breathier than I would've liked. "Yet horribly cheesy."

"At the very least, my dear lady, I am filled with admiration and terror." He finished with the bandages with a small smile. "Which Father always said was a good thing. He often felt the same for Mother."

"Queen Esther fought?" That… contrasted so much with the image everyone had of the prim and proper queen. Though, now that I was remembering, Mom _did_ always look ready to laugh at those stories. "Really?"

"My mother trounced Father in duels." He grinned, perfectly proud and delighted by the memory. "Though, admittedly, she had an advantage, being a lance user fighting a sword wielder. But she's the one who first showed me how strong the lance was, and she's why I was interested in lances. Then I saw Duessel fight and knew lances were what I wanted to fight in." His grin faded for a rueful smile and he shook his head. "Sorry, I rambled. There's a battle, and I'm talking nonsense."

"It's very rude to call your mother 'nonsense'." I studied him a moment. "You miss her."

"I always miss her. I miss my father too. My one comfort in his death is that he gets to be with her again. He was never quite as happy, after she died. But there's a war, and if I don't make myself useful, then I'd _really_ be disrespecting him." He carefully leaned against my back, peering down at the battlefield below. "Looks like they fell back slightly to catch their falling general." He pointed to where Valter was being treated on the ground, and I whimpered. I'd _hoped_ that would kill him, but no such luck there. "So, if we press…"

Brynhildr suddenly growled and stopped short, flapping her wings twice to actually reverse direction. The force was enough to make me jerk back and I accidentally headbutted Prince Ephraim in the face. He yelped and coughed, and a quick look showed that his lip was busted now. However, he didn't say a word. Instead, he focused front, and rested a hand on my shoulder. Hesitantly, I did the same, my own hand gripping Brynhildr's reins, and I froze when I realized why she'd reacted as she had. General Glen was right in front of us, simply watching closely. He made no move to reach for the sword attached to his saddle, even as Ephraim tightened his grip on his lance. Just watched. Waited. Studying.

"So, what did you name her?" he asked suddenly. He had a slight smile, like he was just amused. I was weirded out by it. "She flies well for you, so she must love it."

"...Brynhildr," I answered after a moment. She growled softly in acknowledgement. "Her name is Brynhildr."

"After the Valkyrie Queen. No wonder she likes it." General Glen nodded. "Well, we were only meant to be a distraction, as I'm sure you're aware. My duties are to continue my hunt for Princess Eirika, but we're losing too many people to justify this. We'll be retreating."

"Oh. Good. Why tell me?"

"You're the one carrying Prince Ephraim, and _he_ has been the frontline general." His smile grew, and I glared at Prince Ephraim over my shoulder. Prince Ephraim simply shrugged before giving me a look that said ' _you_ are the one who rescued me, remember?'. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness, and it is good to see how well you fly, Emma."

He flew off, and soon, a horn sounded among the Grado soldiers and they slowly started to pull back. Prince Ephraim and I watched before I got Brynhildr to land and let him dismount to urge our own soldiers to not follow. I promptly found a healer and went to them before I passed out or died.

I never, _ever_ , wanted to see Valter again. _Ever_.

* * *

As we were getting our injuries treated, King Hayden sent a messenger off to the Tower. They came back within hours, carrying the lone survivor they'd found. Everyone else had died in a failed attempt to defend the Sacred Stone, and already, monsters filled the floors, preventing any safe retrieval of bodies. In fact, some of the 'monsters' _were_ those dead, twisted into revenants.

General Selena and this new General, Caellach, showed no mercy. Though the survivor had mentioned it was more of the latter than the former. General Selena had tried to check Caellach's attacks, but rather fruitlessly. I didn't think she had much of a leg to stand on, though, given the scorch marks and how the lone survivor's face was half-burnt off. For all her appearances of morals and mercy, she still listened to her crazy emperor and invaded.

"Try to hold still, petal," Joshua murmured, drawing me from my thoughts. His hands remained perfectly steady as they stitched up my arm. "Do you need more numbing balm?"

"No, I'm fine," I reassured. The healers had wanted to heal my arm completely, but Natasha had argued against it, citing how wyvern bites were notorious for how easily they could get infected, and it was better to just stitch it shut and treat it in stages. "Just thinking of the Tower. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, petal." He leaned over to kiss the top of my head before returning to stitching up the injury. Natasha had healed it just enough to ensure I wouldn't lose it, but it was still a bit of a mangled mess. Joshua had practice stitching up injuries like this, though, so he'd volunteered after he'd gotten his own injuries bandaged. "But this part is tricky."

"Thanks for doing this." I had to bite back a whimper as my back throbbed. I ached anyway, but the wound across my back had been large enough for stitches. Thankfully, not deep. But large. So, it was protesting _badly_. "Can I lay down?"

"Not yet, and certainly not on your back. Not until the healers are free enough."

"Ugh…" I bit off the rest of my complaints. It sucked, but I'd keep my life. It was better than many. I, at least, didn't require constant supervision. "How are your injuries?"

"Nothing fatal or crippling, so I'd say pretty damn good." He grinned. "Hurts like a mother, though."

"Don't say that! Then I'm going to start whining, brother, and I'm _trying_ to be mature about this!"

"Now, now, only a child thinks tears and bitching are signs of immaturity, petal." He tied off the stitches and dropped the needle into some boiled water. "Going to disinfect this one more time and then bandage it up. Then you can lay down on your stomach or something." A knock on the door made both of us pause. I'd forgotten we were in a side room _with_ a door. "Come in?"

"Hello." The door quietly clicked open, revealing a heavily bandaged Eirika. I almost stood up, startled, but Joshua put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "It looks worse than it is," she reassured me. She even smiled. "Long hits but shallow. I need better armor."

"You and me both," I replied, waving her in. Joshua gave her a smile and a wave of his own before returning to cleaning my injury. "What's up?"

"I wanted to check on you." She sat next to me, and peered at the bite wound on my arm. "Oh, why must you be so reckless? I nearly had a heart attack when I heard what you did."

"I'm sorry." I felt guilty. I'd known it was reckless, but until I was right there, I'd completely forgotten how much the others would worry. "But, it _did_ get rid of Valter, and I _am_ alive?"

"Can you try not to be so reckless next time? Between you and Ephraim, I'm going to go grey before my time."

"I promise to try." I smiled sheepishly. "I… uh… we needed to get rid of him."

"Next time, at least get someone to tell me?"

"I will."

"You have to forgive her, dove," Joshua chimed in. He finished wiping disinfectant over the wound, and began bandaging it. "Jehannans in general tend to be a little reckless when it comes to protecting those close to them. We like holding on to what we have."

"Wait, so was it _Mom_ I got it from?" I asked. I paused, remembering just how Mom had died: diving into a flooded river to save some kids, and drowning. "Never mind, that should've been obvious. Oh, but I've almost drowned like her, so I should be really careful around knives."

"If you get stabbed protecting Ephraim or me, I'm going to cry," Eirika deadpanned. "I'm perfectly serious. No using yourself as a shield. I _know_ that's what Joshua did. The soldiers are talking about how he protected Natasha."

"You're right. I'm double-damned it seems."

"Emma!" Eirika huffed as Joshua and I snickered. "You're not helping, Joshua!" She threw her hands up in the air in surrender as Joshua and I just switched to laughter. "Argh… mean! You're both mean!"

"Sorry, sorry!" I smiled at her, and after a moment, she softened to smile back. "But hey, I'm alive, and the worst is going to be a scar. For now, let's let it go."

"Only if you keep your promise to try and curb that recklessness. Otherwise, I'm going to bring it back up, like the almost drowning." Eirika paused. "Wait, didn't you almost drown just trying to get a flower for Vanessa?"

"And came out with Brynhildr. This time, I got badly injured, but we humiliated Valter, so…"

"Lute's right. You're unluckily lucky, and you should really stop banking on that."

"Honestly, dove, I think all of us need to be saying a prayer to Lady Luck today," Joshua commented. He finished bandaging my arm, and kissed my temple as he tied it tight. That was a Jehanna thing, similar to the whole 'kiss the injury to make it better' thing that moms did for little kids. "All of us are lucky to be alive."

"Yeah…" Eirika sighed. She glanced down at the bandages on her legs. "Why did they do that, though? If it was just to get the Tower of Valni…"

"It wasn't just that." Joshua shook his head. "They wanted to shut down Frelia's army, and there's a reason for that. Frelia's army is the only one with _multiple_ advantages tactical theory wise over Grado's." Joshua brought up his hand to visibly count some off. "Pegasi to resist magic and archers to shoot down wyverns. Not to mention how their crown prince is famous for being too serious, a brilliant tactician, and leading the best damn information network on the continent." He brought his hand down, folding them in his lap. "They wanted to make sure Frelia's army couldn't mobilize; it'll have its hands full just dealing with defense after this attack. _That_ can only mean one thing…"

"...They're going to move on the other stones." Eirika closed her eyes. "They're going to go after Jehanna and Rausten."

"Probably why they also took out Renais first. You have to cross Renais for the most direct route. They isolated Frelia, and made it so that it simply _cannot_ aid the other nations. And since historically, Jehanna and Rausten don't get along..."

"...Dang it." She sighed. "Why? Why don't they get along?"

"Rausten views those with red hair and red eyes as children of misfortune, with the more conservative even going with 'demons'. Guess what hair and eye color the royal family of Jehanna has." He tugged a lock of my hair for emphasis. "I've heard the court has become much more moderate and tolerant ever since the current Pontifex took over, but considering the Mercenary Guild still has a 'do not ever hire to Rausten' policy… it's still some bad blood."

"But people's _lives_ are at stake."

"I did also tell you, at some point, that Jehanna was damn prideful?" He smiled as she groaned. "Bad history, stubbornness, and pride. On both sides of the tension."

"What did Jehanna do to Rausten?"

"Oh, besides being rather irreverent towards their customs and mocking their seriousness? The Guild accepted an assassination job on a ruling Pontifex… I think two generations ago? IMight be three." He shrugged. "Granted, it had been a particularly bad year food wise, but the decision was still made to kill the Pontifex instead of _asking_ that very same Pontifex for assistance, or going to another country. Which solidified many Raustenians' belief of demon children of misfortune, and it just cycles from there."

"Ugh…"

"Yep." He sighed, shaking his head. "Whoever is commanding the Grado army is doing it _brilliantly_. Divide and conquer is an old strategy, but damn if it's not working now."

"Then we must reunify the divisions." Eirika opened her eyes at last, but shifted to lean against my shoulder. "Somehow. But these divisions have been occurring for a long while, haven't they?"

"It's been a slow eroding process, yeah. This war highlights the fractures in everyone's trust."

"Why didn't I ever notice? Was I that sheltered?"

"Bluntly? Yes. Most royals are." Joshua's nonchalantness faded for dead-seriousness. "It's become a bad problem, actually. Most nobles just get more and more detached from their people. Even in Jehanna. They do their jobs, but that's about it." He smiled slightly, then. "However, in Renais's case? Your father had a good relationship with every single ruler, a distant but strong bond of friendship. Though tensions were growing, none were with him. That also would have blinded you."

"Oh." Eirika smiled back shyly, a pleased blush mottling her face. She was relieved that her father still got along with everyone. "You know… Father always promised to tell us how he got to know them all. He never did, just always said it was Mother's fault."

"Maybe Seth knows?" I suggested, only half-joking. "He seems to know everything."

"Good point," she agreed. She giggled. "However, I'm curious what tales there are about it."

"If it _tales_ you want, dove, I know thousands, and some of them are even true," Joshua teased. He grinned, eyes dancing in mischief. "Here, let's get some water and I'll tell a few. It's important to keep your spirits up in between jobs. Trust me."

Joshua told Eirika and I stories about his old mercenary group, many of which were so ridiculous that they _had_ to be true. However, when Eirika ended up nodding off in the middle of one, we found a blanket to cover her with and moved into a different room to sing some Prayer Songs, a couple of different ones given the number of injured. Grado might've retreated, but they clearly won this battle. We just happened to survive the victory, and that was something that weighed heavily on everyone.

I needed to think of what part I was going to play in this war. I really did.

* * *

Author's note: The names of most of the Five Heroes aren't known at all (Only Grado and Latona), so I'm just going with 'Valni' as Frelia's founder, since we also never learn who the 'Tower of Valni' is named after in game. In game, there's no attack on Frelia Castle, nor do Glenn and Valter appear at this juncture. In game, it's actually probably a two minute sequence, at most, which… I've made longer. By a lot. Oops.

Tana's C support with Cormag mention that a wyvern's screech is _incredibly_ loud (with Cormag half-jokingly mentioning his wyvern's can pierce your ears at two leagues away), hence Brynhildr weaponizing it to protect her rider (and Ephraim). Tana's pegasus's name is revealed in her supports with Marisa. Joshua taking an arrow for Natasha, and the conversation they had at the end of that scene, comes from their B support.

Next Chapter - Interlude, A New Journey


	14. Interlude - A New Journey

Interlude - A New Journey

* * *

 _Frelia survives the siege, but its sacred stone doesn't. Within days of its breaking, we hear of bands of monsters wandering the countryside. Frelia's military is stretched thin trying to defend the people from both Grado and monsters, on top of trying to recover. Not to mention the civilians… Valter's assault took its toll, and King Hayden has his hands full reassuring them._

 _What's the next step? None of us know. Only that we have to do something. Everything is too messed up to stand to the side when you had the strength to fight._

* * *

"Keep your guard on your left!" Seth snapped out the instructions as the two of us sparred. He probably should've been with the War Meeting, but I'd asked if he'd mind helping me train as he'd been doing the past week, and he'd happily skipped. I had a sneaking suspicion he didn't _like_ those meetings. "Use your legs!"

"Isn't this supposed to me building my stamina and arms?" I half-whined, doing my best to do both things. I ended up getting tangled and falling. "Whoa!"

"There." He moved to strike, but then Brynhildr jumped into the ring and whacked him with her wing. "Oh, for…" He stepped back and sighed, giving Brynhildr a droll look. "I am trying to train her. You cannot always protect her." Brynhildr growled and wrapped her claws and wings around me protectively. "Emma?"

"Brynhildr, I _am_ trying to get stronger. I need to keep up with you." I reached up and scratched her behind the eye-ridge and she nuzzled my cheek. "I need to be able to play keep away from people like Valter better. That's why you and I are working so hard."

"How _is_ your arm?" Seth peered at it worriedly. "You got the stitches out this morning, right?"

"Yep, Natasha healed up the last of it." I rested a hand on the scar, feeling how rough it was. I, thankfully, retained the full use of my arm, but I had to be careful on stressing it. "I think I might need to break, though. That might be why she jumped in. She's better at picking up my pain than I am."

"I understand. My Tyr does similar things." He gestured to the side of the practice area, where towels and water were already set up. "Let's break, and then we can do some more arm strengthening exercises."

"Thanks." I sighed in relief as I snatched a towel and a cup of water and flopped down. Brynhildr curled up behind me as a backrest. "How is your horse anyway? He pulled something, right?"

"Tyr is fine." He sat down next to me and downed some water. I pretended to not notice how he winced. The wound he'd taken when Renais fell hadn't quite 'healed' yet. Honestly, I wondered if it ever would. "That does remind me. Are you so certain on leaving Peachblossom here?"

"Peachblossom was Orson's horse, not mine, and it's not like I'll be using her when I've got Brynhildr." I smiled sadly and shook my head, thinking of her. "Orson had her as a backup because she just wasn't suited for battles. She's too good-natured and would break her heart trying. It's safer to have her here, where she can be spoiled and relatively safe."

"I see." He reached over and patted my shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"I'm… okay. Ish." I shrugged. "No other way to describe it. I'm sad, frustrated, angry… and yet, I'm none of those things at the same time." Orson went mad, and I wasn't there to stop it. "I'm not sure how else to describe it, but I've cried my tears. Now, it's just…"

"Figuring everything out." He nodded, smiling slightly. "I thought this before but you are surprisingly mature sometimes."

"Sometimes? And here I thought I was only mature once in a blue moon." I grinned and he actually laughed. Softly, but there. "But hey, while you're in such a good mood, can I ask you something?"

"You may ask, but I hold the right to refuse, depending."

"I'm sure it's something you're allowed to answer, but hey, I've been wrong before." I took a big gulp of water and set it down before settling against Brynhildr. "I've been wondering this. But most of the people wanted Eirika to be the heir. And some things make it clear Prince Ephraim wouldn't contest it. So why…?"

"Why did King Fado leave Prince Ephraim as the heir?" Seth closed his eyes and fell silent, clearly thinking deeply. I waited, looking up at the clouds. The sky was a beautiful blue today, and the clouds were fluffy. I wanted to go straight through one. "Sir Garcia would know this better than I, but the main reason is because… King Fado was once the same."

"... _King Fado_ was a reckless… feckless…" I gave him an incredulous look, not able to reconcile the words with King Fado, the stoic warrior king. "Seriously?"

"As I said, Sir Garcia would know more. But if I remember the stories correctly, King Fado skipped out on his own marriage announcement to Queen Esther to go on an adventure. And that was perhaps one of the tamer things he did." He opened his eyes and smiled. "King Fado saw that Prince Ephraim inherited his foolhardy courage, just as Princess Eirika inherited his stubbornness, and decided that Prince Ephraim would mature, in time, and be the better ruler. You've noticed Princess Eirika's flaws yourself, by now."

"...Yeah, she's stubborn, loyal to a fault, easily tricked because she's so gentle, and cannot see the big picture because of her empathy." She might be my best friend, but I could acknowledge these flaws. "She's dutiful and takes her studies seriously, but that is only one part of the whole. And maybe that's the true problem with both of them." I looked up at the sky again, this time in thought. "They function as a unit almost. Their strengths cover each others' flaws. And no one scolded them for it because they took up the slack."

"Yes. And they have realized it too. This war has highlighted not only the weaknesses in our countries, but in our leaders and heirs."

"...Do you think I can help?"

"I think you do already, Emma. You prevented Princess Eirika from giving away the bracelet."

"It got that little girl killed. But, then again, he planned on killing her anyway, didn't he?" I sighed and then squeaked as Brynhildr licked my cheek. "Brynhildr!"

"That's her way of saying 'stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop being serious'."

"I don't need to hear 'stop being serious' from you, mister stoic!"

"Seth, you are the worst person to tell someone to 'not be so serious'." The laughing voice heralded a newcomer, who I recognized as Syrene, the lady Seth talked with in the gardens. I almost greeted her by name, but then remembered that I didn't 'officially' know her. "I just got back, before you ask," she explained, still laughing. She had a warm smile. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop."

"No, you never 'try'. You do or you don't," Seth instantly replied. He smiled good-naturedly and stood up. "What brings you to the practice yard?"

"I was coming over to say 'hi', of course, and to meet the girl who saved my beloved baby sister. Though, I did have a message for you, but I'm going to ignore that." Syrene turned her smile to me. "And you must be Emma, based on the wyvern. I'm Syrene, Vanessa's older sister."

"H-hello," I replied, smiling awkwardly. I didn't know how to react to someone I'd eavesdropped on before, and I just 'saved' Vanessa after nearly getting her killed. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Syrene replied. She laughed, and then crouched down to look at Brynhildr. "And hello to you too, Brynhildr. Are you enjoying the sun?" Brynhildr gave her a wary look and nodded before pointedly ignoring her again. "She's one of those that hates people, isn't she?"

"Nah, she's indifferent to most. She's like a cat." I laughed as Brynhildr nuzzled me. "She loves me, though."

"I've heard so much of the bond between wyverns and their riders. It's almost strange to see." Syrene smiled warmly. "Say, how do you practice fighting while flying? I know Seth can't teach that."

"I'm helping her regain the strength in her arm primarily," Seth defended. His eyes narrowed slightly. "But otherwise, she is on her own. Are you offering?"

"I am, actually!" Syrene replied. She straightened and grinned. "I'll only be here a few days, but I do love teaching. Wyverns fly differently, but the basics should be about the same."

"...Emma will have to rest her arm, and isn't there a ball tonight?"

"Why don't I steal her tomorrow?" She giggled, and Seth rolled her eyes. "Providing Emma wants the lessons, I mean."

"I wouldn't mind," I replied, half-automatically. It was disorienting being talked about over my head. "But yeah, like he said, not today. I think if I push anymore, Natasha will pout."

"It's always a bad day when you make a healer sulk," Syrene replied. Her eyes danced with even more laughter. "But, regardless, I guess I can get on with that message now." She glanced at Seth, smile widening. "Our spies came back. I don't know how you convinced them that it was important to get all those things."

"Logical bullshit," Seth answered, so blandly that I did a doubletake. "My seriousness works to my advantage sometimes. But they got some of the items."

"Yep."

"In that case…" Seth turned to me, and smiled. "Let's head inside, Emma. You might like this."

That confused me, but clearly, Seth wasn't saying anything more. So, instead, I stood up and urged Brynhildr to return to the stables before returning to the castle, listening to Seth and Syrene banter over my head.

It was… strangely amusing. I felt like I was walking with Orson and Monica again.

* * *

Once inside, I went to Natasha to get a check up, and after that, a helpful servant led me to some spare room. Immediately, my jaw dropped as I realized what the 'items' were: things from Orson's townhouse. Some other things I didn't recognize were in the room too, but _things from the townhouse were here_. Dad's poison manuals, of course, but things that wouldn't hold any sort of war value, like my old dolls or some quilts. Some of Mom's jewelry, or Dad's books. Some of Monica's things… personal items I thought I'd never see again.

A quick question to the servant revealed other 'odd items', which made 'the two blonde knight brothers and their green haired friend' laugh as well, were in other rooms. Meaning the answer to my question of 'why?' was 'Seth is a sweetheart under the stoic-serious-duty-ness.'.

"Dad's poison manuals, huh?" I whispered. I stood by the window, flipping through. I'd always seen them in the house, but I'd never actually looked through before. They were always something special to Orson, but based on the dust that still clung to the pages, he obviously hadn't looked through in a long while. "Wow, these… are really simple." They were almost deceptively simple, and Dad had even written notes on why he picked what he picked, and more details on _why_ he still used poisons. "Protect his world…" He'd wanted to protect the people he loved, because he knew the loneliness of having nothing. I knew that pain too…

I wished I'd actually gotten a chance to talk with him. The notes in the manuals revealed that he and I were more alike than I ever would've thought.

"Oh my goodness!" Eirika's happy gasp caught my attention, and I looked up to see her and Prince Ephraim walk in. Eirika's eyes were sparkling. "I thought Seth was _joking_!" she laughed, clapping her hands. I sneakily tucked the poison manuals under some blankets. "Look, Ephraim! Mother's necklace!"

"And those earrings Lyon gave you," Prince Ephraim instantly retorted. He grinned as she flushed, before turning his attention to me. "Ah, Emma, you get things too?"

"I did indeed," I replied, holding up a worn book for emphasis. It was a book of ballads, and one of Dad's favorites. "But seriously, Eirika, since when does Seth joke?"

"That's… a good point," Eirika mumbled, glancing to the side. Still, she picked up a pair of wing earrings and slipped them on, smiling. "I'm so glad. I thought we'd lose so many of these forever."

"Like your mother's necklace?"

"Yep. She said that Ephraim should wear it always." She gave him a dirty look. "Though, clearly, he doesn't."

"The message was 'it will save you' or some strange nonsense!" Prince Ephraim protested. He plucked the necklace from the pile of things on the table. The whole room was filled with stuff, but they were separated. Somewhat. Most of my things were on the bed, for instance. "I'd rather it save others."

"But she wanted it to save _you_ ," Eirika retorted, pouting. She took it from him and held it up. "Besides, it's pretty."

"That's the other reason I don't wear it. I'm scared to break or lose it!"

"Can I see it?" I asked, now far too curious. Eirika passed it to me, and my eyes widened as I realized what it was instantly. "Well, it's not a superstitious thing, if that's what you're worried about." I held it up to the light just to make sure, but I only became more certain. It was the right color, red-gold, with the mark of the Sun God on one side, and Old Jehannan script on the other. "It's a Sun Token. Someone in the Guild loved your mother dearly, if she's got something like that."

"That… still sounds like a charm," Prince Ephraim replied. He frowned, but softened as Eirika cooed over the pretty light the pendant gave off. "But, then again, I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything."

"What a shock."

"Hey!" He pouted and I grinned. "Oh, whatever. What's a Sun Token?"

"Why are you guys talking about a Sun To… hello, that's a pretty one." Joshua poked his head in, whistling softly as he peered at it. "That's an older one," he commented. He carefully took it from me, eyes narrowed. "Yep, old. The ones carried by my generation have the Goddess of War as well as the God of the Sun in the blessings. Or maybe..." He frowned and tilted it. "No, I'm right. 'Blessed be the one who wears this token, and may the God of the Sun ever light their path'. Must be twenty years old, give or take." He turned it to the other side, smiling slightly. "And over here is 'Blessed be the one who wears this token, and may their strength remain as true as the thunder's roar.' So whoever this was made for must've personally prayed to the God of Storms." He passed it back to me. "Something from your mom, petal?"

"It's something _his_ mom left for him," I replied. I hooked it around Prince Ephraim's neck, and tapped him on the nose. "Wear it."

"Neither of you answered my question," Prince Ephraim complained. Eirika laughed and dove back into the stuff. "What is it?"

"It's basically a visible symbol of 'Mess with me, and the Guild will be on your ass', hawk," Joshua explained, shrugging. Prince Ephraim made a confused noise. "That's to which part? If it's 'hawk', I nickname. It's a Jehannan thing. Your sister is 'dove', so you need to be a bird too."

"And hawk because…?"

"Observations, focus, to take up the lead, and is the primary hunting bird of the royal family." He shrugged. "Anyway, for the Token, basically it puts you in the Guild ledgers as an 'untouchable' target. No jobs are taken against you, and your requests get priority. Of course, the whole thing is corrupt so it really depends on standing and whatnot of the mercenary who gave the token, but that's the thought."

"But I inherited it."

"So long as your mom told the Guild, then you're the one in the ledger." Joshua shrugged again. "But that's not why I came in here. Dove, King Hayden is hiring mercenaries for his royal seriousness."

"Don't call Innes that!" Eirika instantly laughed. Prince Ephraim broke down in snickers, his confusion over the Token disappearing. "He nearly had an apoplexy when you did!"

"He needs to take himself less seriously, for his own sake," Joshua defended with a bright grin. He winked when I gave him an incredulous look. "Fine, fine, I'll come up with something else. Shame 'hawk' is taken, but that would be too simple for a sniper. But, point is, do you want to hire some yourself?"

"Why? I've got you, right?" Eirika grinned as Joshua coughed, not expecting the sudden compliment. "Besides, we're already a pretty large group. It'll be hard enough to get a ship to Rausten."

"Point." He glanced at me, and noticed my confusion. "Well, you two need to catch her up on the War Meeting, and I'll let King Hayden know that you're not hiring. See ya!" He kissed the top of my head before darting off, and I laughed, realizing the reason why he made such a hasty exit. He'd been _super_ embarrassed by the compliment.

"Watch the praise with Jehannans, Eirika, because they don't hear such things often," I half-joked, half-explained. Both her and Prince Ephraim looked super confused. "But Rausten?"

"Oh, yes!" Eirika replied. She smiled brightly and sat down. "Basically, we're going to warn Rausten and Jehanna. Ephraim and I are leading the group to Rausten, while Innes is going to Jehanna. We'll be taking a boat in Carcino!"

"Huh." I gave Prince Ephraim a pointed look. "And here I thought you'd just want to charge the Grado lines to the south." Eirika burst into giggles as Prince Ephraim coughed and looked away. "Oh, dear gods, you did."

"I… did ask about the viability, yes?" Prince Ephraim squeaked. I facepalmed. "J-just to work on the defenses! I swear!"

"Yeah, right," I deadpanned. This time, I gave him a droll look. "You decided to charge Renvall with four people."

"It worked!"

"Don't excuse your recklessness with good luck!"

"Is that something _you_ should be saying, miss 'I am going to bait a Grado General!'?"

"It was just to get him to a better place for Prince Innes to take a shot! Not 'hey, let's go charge a heavily defended fort with no backup!'!"

"Goodness, you two, relax!" Eirika gently interrupted. Her smile was warm. "I'm mad at both of you for that!" She giggled, and Prince Ephraim and I shared looked of half-horror. "Regardless, though, he _did_ ask, but chose to come with me when we learned the final counts."

"I also feared getting hit over the head for being stupid," Prince Ephraim sighed. He looked through some of the other things on the table and tried to hide a picture. Emphasis 'tried'. "I do wish you'd stay here, though, Eirika."

"Nope, not happening." She frowned, sulking a little. "I refuse to sit in safety while you go in danger. I will fight as you do, even if I am not as skilled."

"...Is that a subtle jab?"

"Perhaps, dear brother." She giggled and he groaned. I just shrugged, not quite getting it. "You must forgive me. I was dreadfully worried." She turned her attention to me. "But what will you do, Emma? Will you stay here? Come along?"

"Come along, I think," I replied with a shrug. I made a face, though, as I thought of why. "I'm afraid it's mostly just so I don't fret myself sick. I'm not a fighter, for all the skill I seem to have with it." I thought Prince Ephraim shot me a strange look, but he didn't say anything, and so, I didn't comment on it. "If that's okay?"

"Of course it is. I look forward to the day this is over too," Eirika agreed softly. She smiled and sat next to me, giving me a hug. "I'm glad you're coming along. You remind me when I'm being silly."

"You're _always_ silly." I managed a grin, and she laughed. "Speaking of silly, what's that portrait Prince Ephraim is holding?"

"I was trying to hide it!" Prince Ephraim complained. He hid it behind his back and dodged when Eirika tried to snag it. "You don't want her to see this either! It's a bath sketch Father made!"

"Now I really want to see it!" I laughed, jumping to my feet. "Let's go!"

The three of us ended up in a strange 'fight' for embarrassing pictures that led to so much laughter, the servants peeked in worriedly, thinking we were under attack. It was just… so strange. Fun, but strange.

* * *

That evening, King Hayden hosted a ball. I wasn't sure why, but it did come with a feast for the common folk too, so it felt like a 'glad to be alive' celebration. I spent the time before dinner getting fitted in one of Tana's old gowns, the same as Eirika, while someone desperately tried to find me white gloves, since that was apparently Serious Business, and some heels that went with the dress that would also fit me. The maid in charge of that was nearly in tears when she could only find me a pair of 'light grey' gloves, but I reassured her it was fine, mostly because I just didn't know why I had to wear gloves in the first place. Besides, I thought 'light grey' suited the dress I wore anyway, since it was blues and silvers, with a matching heels a smidge too big, but with a pretty little flower set on the front. Tana pinned some matching blue flowers into my hair, while also making sure she and Eirika also wore flowers. 'So that we match', she had laughed. I didn't bother asking why she wanted _me_ to match with her and Eirika. I'd long given up trying to figure such things out.

After the meal, which was rather tasty and certainly better than the last feast I'd attended, we all mingled about as the dance floor was set up. During this part, nobles and common folk talked and chatted. Which meant I spent most to the time not in the shadows as I'd expected, but dragged into conversation by random people I barely recognized as people I'd help evacuate during the attack. I yelped and blushed, and tried to tell them that it wasn't that big of a deal, but they cooed over my 'humbleness'. I _did_ get to see that little boy who saw his mother skewered, peeking out shyly behind his sister's skirts, and it was a relief to see them recovering.

It was a bit of a relief, though, for the servants announcing the dancing was beginning and I could safely escape to what I assumed was going to be safe and quiet. However, while I did escape the first dance, Prince Innes himself asked me to dance during the second, and there was no real way to refuse that.

"I must say that I'm surprised," I commented once the two of us had settled into the rhythm. It was a somewhat easy dance, thankfully. I'd never danced at a _ball_ before, and was worried about running into people. "I would have thought you'd dance with Tana next, since your first dance was with Eirika."

"I have no intentions of listening to Tana prattle on about some inane thing Ephraim did while they danced," Prince Innes replied bluntly. He tugged me a bit to the right to help me avoid another dancing pair. "And it is a night for frivolousness, so I don't want to dampen her enthusiasm."

"My, how kind of you." I laughed. "You love her dearly."

"She's a spoilt brat, but that's not her fault. Entirely." He spun me around once, eyes narrowed slightly, in time with the music. We were among the 'slower' dances on the fringes of the dancing group. "You dance very well."

"My brother in law taught me. He had to attend balls as a knight, and he taught Monica and me. Me mostly so that I wasn't left out." I laughed again, this time a little more sadly. It had been so much fun. Monica and I would sing the music while Orson showed us the steps... "I never thought I'd actually dance at a ball, of course."

"Especially a Frelian one, I imagine." He fell silent again, and I just focused on enjoying the music and not stepping on his toes. "I'm sorry."

"...For…?"

"I had a shot before he attacked you, but I decided to wait for a better one. And you nearly lost your arm for it." Surprisingly, he sounded suitably apologetic, even if he still looked as stoic as normal. "I'm sorry."

"You know… if you didn't mention it, I would've never known a thing." I shrugged, smiling. "Whatever. The plan worked, and I've got a neat scar out of it."

"You could have lost the arm."

"And then I would've had an excuse to not fight. I still won then." I shook my head. "Losing a limb isn't the end of the world. My mom taught me that. Yes, it sucked for her to adapt to losing an eye, especially since she was once a skilled sniper, but she still had her life. She lived it to the fullest, even when Dad died protecting King Fado. A disability just changes how you must live. Well, here in countries like Frelia and Renais." I smiled. "So, please, don't fret so much. You _did_ shoot him before I had to make a choice of risking capture or jumping to my death. That's enough."

"...I can see what Eirika and Ephraim see in you." He actually smiled slightly when the music ended and bowed gracefully. "Thank you for the dance."

"Thank you for the honor." I decided to not comment on the first statement. I wasn't quite sure what I'd say anyway. Besides, there wasn't much of a chance to anyway. Prince Innes escorted me to a chair set up along the wall before going to ask his sister to a dance. I had just settled myself when Joshua appeared in front of me with a grin and a bow, which didn't falter when I gave him my best 'what the hell' look.

"Come on, petal, it's a fast one," he explained. He actually looked rather dashing in long sleeved shirt of blacks and golds and matching pants. He looked better in Jehannan clothes, but the richness of the Frelian formal wear suited him just fine. "It'll be fun."

"Oh, it is you, brother," I retorted instantly. "I thought you might be some weird doppelganger, since you're wearing no hat and your hair tied back."

"I was forbidden from wearing the hat. Sadly. I thought it would make the ensemble roguish, but no, they want noble." He winked. "So, petal, dance?"

"Fine, fine, but only if you ask Natasha to dance next." I took his hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor. "Alright?"

"Are those gears turning in your head?"

"They only turn because of your bet!"

"Damn, you did overhear that." He rolled his eyes and I grinned. "Fine, fine. I'll ask her."

"Yay~!" I laughed, and that was the last free breath I had for a while. Joshua and I danced some fast dance I barely knew the steps to, but Joshua helped me improvise quickly. Unfortunately, the improvisions left me no breath to chat, and the next few sets were equally fast. Worse, I was asked to dance at each of them. Seth, Garcia, Franz… some nobles I didn't know but didn't know how to refuse politely… I even danced with Eirika and Tana during one set to our incredible amusement. It was fun, but these heels weren't the best fitting, and I rarely wore heels anyway, so they rubbed on my feet painfully and by the time there was a slow song again, I swore I was just going to cut off my feet because they hurt so much. I was definitely limping as I made my way to the wall again, and I glanced around, looking for some sort of escape.

"There's a lovely little hidden door that leads to the gardens not far from here." Prince Ephraim appeared from nowhere and ducked as I yelped and flailed, startled. "Sorry, I thought you heard me," he explained, smiling sheepishly. "But you also look like you're ready to leave."

"I expected to have a lovely time watching people dance, not dance myself," I groaned. I paused and then smiled sheepishly. "And… ah… sorry for almost hitting you."

"It's fine, like I said. No harm done." He shrugged. "So, escape? I was about to head out for fresh air myself. The perfume is getting to me."

"I'm too tired to notice the perfume." I glanced around, wondering if anyone was watching. I did catch sight of Joshua and Natasha dancing, and it made me smile. What also made me smile was Seth and Syrene dancing, smiling warmly at each other. So, I almost refused. Then I noticed someone walking over, a nobleman who had asked me to dance earlier, and that decided me. "Outside now. Please."

"You know; you _are_ allowed to refuse." He offered me his arm, and I took it, leaning on him to take some weight off my feet as he led the way out. "You just can't politely accept another's request to dance."

"Oh, that's helpful to know. I'll remember that." I grumbled a few more unflattering things and breathed a sigh of relief once we were outside. Prince Ephraim laughed. "Seriously, why so many people?"

"You look very lovely, you are a bit of a hero, and it is the epitome of manners to make sure all wallflowers are asked to dance." He shrugged and laughed again as I mimed a blow at imaginary 'polite' people. "We're a bit far from the benches, but you can sit on the fountain here."

"I'd sit on a grave at this point." I whimpered as I sat down at last and leaned back slightly. I glanced around, and was pleased to see only whites, pinks, and yellows among the flowers. "No red…"

"No, not in this section." Prince Ephraim stood next to me, not sitting himself. He looked rather dashing himself, and I noticed with amusement that he and I shared a color motif, sort of. He had golds for his accent, much like Eirika. But she'd been dressed in whites for the ball. "Do you not like red flowers?"

"My mind has connected them to blood one too many times. And syrup. I don't want to see syrup again either." I made a face. "I think I'd like to avoid red in general, except then I'd be really stuck. I'd never be able to look at my reflection again."

"I understand. The first time I killed bandits, I couldn't look at cherries for months because my mind went 'oh, hey, the blood floating in the water looks like cherries'!" He pitched his voice up to play up the silliness and I couldn't help but laugh. "So, you'll be traveling with us?"

"Yep. I'll be too worried otherwise." I frowned. "Is… that a problem, Prince Ephraim?"

"No, no, I'm happy about it. I get more time to try and win over Brynhildr for another ride." He grinned. "I managed two!"

"The second was rescue, Prince Ephraim. It doesn't count."

"Damn." He made a face, and I laughed again. "And I think it'll be good for Eirika. I'm just… worried if it will be good for you."

"I can hold my own, and if you're talking mentally, trust me, you don't want to inflict worrying me on King Hayden. I get horribly honest, even worse, and that means I'll be very snarky and mean."

"I… can actually believe that, given what comments I've heard. And what I've been told." He looked thoughtful and sighed. "Yeah, no, maybe inflict that on Vigarde, but not King Hayden."

"Oh, I'll be _glad_ to give Vigarde an earful, if only for damn Valter!"

"I'd pay to see you do that." He snickered, and I laughed again. It was… strangely easy. Like Eirika, he just had a gentle, subtle… charisma, I supposed. Like a beacon in the night, offering shelter. "How is your arm?"

"Healing. It's still a bit weak, but I'll make a full recovery before long." I smiled. "I'm fine, Prince Ephraim. No need to fret over me."

"Considering your recklessness…"

"I really don't need to hear that from you, mister."

"I don't pick fights I can't win."

"Are you sure you want to use that boast on me? I've mocked it already."

"...Okay, point." He made another face, and I grinned, triumphant. "Ah, but I almost forgot. Emma, may I make a request?"

"If it's a dance, I'm refusing." Morbidly curious, I slipped off my heel and winced at how raw they looked. "My feet can't take anymore. In fact, how much trouble will I get in if I soak them in the fountain?"

"I won't tell if you don't." He grinned, and I grinned back before taking off the other heel and spinning so that I could place my feet in the soothingly cool water. My skirts twisted up a little awkwardly, but I didn't care. "But no, nothing like that. I was wondering if you'd mind dropping the title with me."

"Oh?" I glanced up at him again, leaning back slightly to look him in the face better. "Well, I suppose. I guess it is weird to call you by title and not your sister."

"Exactly." His grin softened to a smile. "Thank you."

"It's no trouble, Ephraim." I shrugged and looked up at the stars sparkling down at us. "Weird, since I never expected to even meet any of you, much less be on first name basis. But no trouble."

"War makes everything weird." He looked up as well, and then pointed to something. "Ah, there's Valni's spear."

"Really, where?" I frowned. "I can never find those constellations."

"It's pretty simple once you know the trick. Lyon taught me." He held out his hand, and when I took it, he stepped behind me and brought my hand up to trace them out. "See, that's the shaft there, with the ornamental band…"

We spent the rest of the ball hunting for constellations and arguing over the stories about them, switching between the stories I knew, mostly Jehannan, and the stories he knew, mostly Renasi. It was surprisingly fun. I didn't think I could have fun with him.

* * *

Author's note: Right, so. In game, at this point, Ephraim and Eirika split up and you get a route split. I, however, am doing both routes, so we're doing Eirika's route first with Ephraim tagging along for better char development. Now, the story does differ slightly from this point depending on who you choose, even after Eirika and Ephraim reunite again, so I will clarify that the story will lean more towards Eirika's story in those chapters. We'll just be inserting Ephraim's chapters into the narrative.

There is no in-game name for Seth's horse. I went with 'Tyr', the norse god of war and justice.

Next Chapter - Distant Blade


	15. Chapter 9) A Distant Blade

Chapter 9) A Distant Blade

* * *

 _So, the name of the game is try to make it to Rausten and Jehanna before Grado does. Eirika and Ephraim decide to head to Carcino and take a ship from there, and so, our group makes its slow way to Port Kiris. We have to pass the Tower of Valni on the way, and the scorch marks, dried blood, and revenants in the distance serves as an eerie reminder of just what will happen if we don't make it._

 _Supposedly, Frelia got Carcino's reassurance that they will remain an ally, but I have a horribly bad feeling. The best way to betray someone is by tricking them into thinking they're an ally. Orson did that._

* * *

When we arrived in Port Kiris, it was decided that a large group would catch far too much attention and that we should break into smaller groups and then take multiple ships to Rausten. Eirika and I automatically paired up, and we dragged Ephraim with us before diving into the crowd. And it was a good thing, because Ephraim and I had to drag Eirika out of trouble. A lot.

"Why is it that everyone can figure me out for being nobly born, whereas they just think you're some gentleman soldier, Ephraim?" Eirika complained after a long string of near misses. We were hiding in an alley near the edge of town, mostly because Ephraim and I were running out of excuses. "We're twins. We had similar upbringings."

"My sneaking out is helping lots," Ephraim replied smugly. He snickered when she gave him a dirty look. "This is horrible. This war is rewarding me for all the habits you hate."

"While everyone else is suffering in misery," I reminded him 'sweetly'. He grimaced and sighed. "But I have to reluctantly admit that you're right. It's a demeanor thing. Not that Ephraim here doesn't slip."

"What are you… oh, right, outside Renvall." He laughed. "I gave myself away a bit because of a simple sentence."

"Sort of." I sighed, though, remembering. "I should've grabbed you. Would've saved us a lot of trouble."

"To be fair, I should've been like 'take me to my sister!'."

"You were _outside_ Renvall when I was?" Eirika asked incredulously. Ephraim immediately began squirming. "And yet…?"

"My reaction was 'get Forde and Kyle'?" he replied, voice a little squeaky. He actually began ducking behind me as Eirika began glowering. "I'm sorry?"

"You…!" She growled wordlessly before throwing her hands up in the air. "Ugh… that really would've solved problems!"

"In my defense, I knew Orson was near, and expected him to ambush you at the gates?" He was fully hiding behind me now. "Or that, you know, you wouldn't be at the gates so soon?"

"I had _Seth_!"

"I didn't know that at the time!"

"You're horrible!" She huffed before sighing. "Well, it's past now…" She peeked out of the alley, and Ephraim slowly stepped out from behind me. "Why did you hide behind Emma?"

"Because then you'd be yelling at us _both_."

"Emma will yell for me then." She grinned and laughed when I nodded. Ephraim brought his hands up in surrender. "So, the ships are over there… and once we're on, we can reac

Rausten in ten days, less than half the time by land." Eirika glanced at me. "What are we doing with Brynhildr and… Vanessa's pegasus that I cannot remember the name of?"

"Titania, I think," I answered. "And they'll just follow the ship, I think." I sighed, thinking of Brynhildr hiding outside the city. "We can't exactly just have them appear out of nowhere. It's too dangerous."

"So, like everything about this," Ephraim pointed out. I grimaced, not wanting to concede the point. "Still, there's a lot of people." He looked out too, pushing Eirika back. "But I _don't_ see a lot of ships. And I see a lot of people on the docks."

"You think something happened?"

"Considering how things have been?"

"Okay, point." I peeked out too, frowning as I saw something I didn't like. There was… "Are those soldiers searching the homes?"

"Where?"

"There." I pointed to a nearby home, before catching myself as I leaned out a little too far. A couple of civilians turned our way, but I ducked back quickly. "See?"

"…Oh dear." He sighed. "I've a really bad feeling that things are going to get a little-"

"I finally caught up~!" Though the voice was cheerful, all three of us whirled at it, drawing weapon. And then all three of us stared at the sight of Tana, without even a cloak to hide her face. "Wow, you guys travel fast," she continued, completely oblivious to our staring. "Hiya!"

"Hi, Tana," Eirika replied automatically. There was a long pause before it all finally clicked. "Tana?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'd wanted to ask properly, but _you_ two just left without a farewell!" She scowled. "So, I followed you."

"...Does King Hayden know about this?"

"Nope!" She was back to smiles. "He'd never let me anyway. But I was worried, and I'm tired of you guys going into danger. We're friends. Let me help!"

"Tana…"

"Please?" She turned to me beseechingly, for some reason. "I've already fought! Emma can vouch!"

"That she has," I replied after a moment, remembering that flight. She beamed at me. "Did rather well. Flies well. If we're worried about experience, I will point out that we have Franz, who had just completed his training and Ross, who is fifteen and only trained with his dad. Plus Colm and Neimi, who technically had no training at all."

"See?" Tana replied. She looked pleadingly at Eirika and Ephraim. "So…?"

"…King Hayden is going to kill us," Ephraim groaned. Eirika only sighed, and nodded. "Fine, fine. You win. We'll learn to say 'no' to you another day."

"Yay~!"

"But it's not a game."

"Oh, I know." She remained perfectly cheerful, but she glanced at me. I remembered how she'd also _frozen_ after that first kill, and smiled reassuringly. "So, what's the plan? I left Achaeus with Brynhildr and Titania."

"You found them?"

"No, Brynhildr found me. That's how I knew I'd caught up."

"Well, first thing is first," I replied, unhooking my cloak to put it on her. "You're recognizable, Tana, so you need to keep the hood up." I smiled slightly as she nodded. "Secondly, we're supposed to be…" I paused, and glanced behind me as I heard footsteps approach. And then I groaned as I realized something else. "Oh, hell."

"Oh! Salutations!" A familiar green haired girl stepped into the alley with us, eating a pastry. "Have you come to partake in these divine pastries?" she asked, smiling. I just pushed Eirika forward. "They're quite delightful!"

"I'm sure," Eirika replied politely. She looked as confused as I felt. What was she doing all the way over here? We last saw her in southern Renais. "It's… L'arachel, yes?"

"Yes! You're darling! Dozla, here!" L'arachel seized Eirika by the arm and dragged her out. Eirika barely had time to pull her hood back up. "Let's buy some pastries for my friend!"

"So, who is that?" Tana asked as we watched the two of them slid into the market. I wanted to follow, but thought it would be too dangerous. "I've never seen her."

"We've seen her once before, in the Za'ha woods," I explained. I frowned as I studied L'arachel, noticing her behavior. "She's a noble."

"How can you tell?"

"Well, for one, she's not checking the price of anything before she buys something." I pointed to her clothes. "Secondly, all white like that? That is _expensive_ to keep clean like that, and she wears that for simple traveling clothes." I reached up and tapped my forehead. "For three, that was definitely a circlet she was wearing."

"I'd heard that Pontifex Mansel's heir is his niece," Ephraim mused softly. He made a face when I gave him an incredulous look. "There were talks of an arranged marriage. It was one of those 'well, schedule a meeting and see what happens' things, but then Grado attacked."

"Wow, and you bothered to remember," I snarked. He rolled his eyes and I smiled slightly. "Well, if so, I'd be willing to bet that was her."

"But what would Rausten's heir be doing gallivanting about the countryside?"

"Is that really something you should be asking?"

"I still had reasons for doing it. They were even sometimes good reasons." He waved as Eirika extracted herself and returned to us, looking a little frazzled and carrying a basket of pastries. "Oh, food for us?"

"She specifically said 'we need to make sure we have enough for your friends' before commenting on how she was going to go ahead and take the land route to Rausten," Eirika answered. We went into the alley again, and she passed out the food. "As for the land route? No ships are sailing. There's a ghost ship and it's destroyed a _lot_ of ships."

"That's… not good," Ephraim murmured. It felt odd discussing this over pastries, but all of us dug in without calling attention to it. We were hungry, and free food wasn't anything to scoff at. "If none are sailing, then we need to take the land route too." He took a big bite of his pastry, but chewed slowly to gather his thoughts. "Convenient, though."

"Highly."

A loud _crash_ startled us, and we looked out again. I had to cover Tana's mouth to stop her scream of horror as it became obvious that the 'crash' had been some guards breaking windows of a nearby house. And, worse, this time we were close enough to hear what was going on. 'Tear the place apart! Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim are somewhere in this town! Kill anyone who protests!'

"We have to get out of here," Ephraim whispered. He gathered Eirika in his arms and hid her face as we saw the guards beat an old man trying to shield a young girl our age. I almost did the same with Tana, but while she accepted the hug, she refused to hide. "But there's going to be guards…"

"We have to hide," I murmured. I bit my lip, trying to think. "Or… well, two fliers. We _could_ escape. But we'd have to get somewhere open for Brynhildr. I can't climb the walls."

"Is there an abandoned building?"

"Close? Maybe." I let go of Tana and very carefully stepped out of the alley. I had the best shot to talk my way out of this, but I'd have to do it alone. I didn't like this one bit. "Okay… is there…?"

"Emma?" The voice made me freeze, and I turned slowly to see, of all people, _Sam_ just down the way. "Knew it was you!" he called, racing over. He took my hand and tugged, eyeing the guards warily. They weren't paying attention. "Come on! Mama says that if I really did see you that I should take you to our place! You and your friends. I thought I saw you with people, at least."

"I… uh…" I stammered. I glanced back at the others, to gauge their responses, and god hesitant nods in reply. "Um…" But the guards made me wary, so I looked back to him. "Will you be safe?"

"They already searched our place. That's why I was outside. Mom wanted me out of the way." He tugged my hand again and then looked in the alley to smile at them. "Come on! Hurry!"

This just got so weird. What were the chances of meeting Sam in Carcino?

* * *

"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!" Helen greeted me with a giant hug and kisses to my cheek. "I heard the village was razed not long after we left, and I was so scared you'd been caught up in it," she continued to ramble, pulling back to look me in the face. "Oh, goodness, Emma… you're just like your parents. Always getting into trouble!"

"Sorry?" I mumbled, smiling sheepishly. I was really surprised I'd run into her. I'd known she had went to Carcino, but… "So, what brought you to the port?"

"We were at a border village, but Victor insisted we move farther away, and offered to house us." She let go of me at last, but mostly to wipe at her eyes. "His group is based here, after all."

"Oh, right, right…" I shrugged, feeling a little awkward, and glanced at the others, who were being ogled at by Sam. "So… uh… this Helen and Sam. From my village. Helen, these are…"

"The royal twins, and Princess Tana of Frelia." She smiled sweetly at them. "I should've guessed you'd find sanctuary with them."

"It's honestly more of the other way around?" Eirika meekly corrected. Sam immediately snagged Ephraim and dragged him off to the side, leaving Tana, Eirika, and me to deal with Helen. "She helped me, and… well, she still helps me."

"It's very nice to meet you!" Tana chimed in, smiling warmly. She looked around the house, eyes sparkling. "I love your house."

"Oh, why thank you," Helen replied with a little giggle. "It's smaller than my old house, but it's bigger than the one that had been on the border."

"It's still very lovely."

"You're so sweet!"

"Helen, Sam, are you two okay?" The front door opened suddenly, and Victor, looking a little more haggard than I remembered, walked in. He paused, the door swinging shut behind him, as he took stock of the new people in the room. "Uh… what?" he asked, eyes darting around. They fell on me, though, and his face lit up with a bright and warm smile. "Emma?!" He crossed the room in two steps and caught me in a hug. "I knew you'd find the luck to survive!"

"Glad to see you too," I replied, returning the hug. I pulled away and gestured to the group. "And… well, I got into trouble."

"Of course you did." He looked to the others, and his jaw drop as he processed just who else was here. "Oh, holy heavens and hells."

"Yeah."

"God of merchants and tricksters."

"Yeah."

"Sweet merciful-"

"Yeah." I poked his side. "Go freak out later. Can we confirm a few things?"

"Sure, sure." He sighed and sat down in a chair. "You want some alcohol while we talk? Because I feel like I need a drink."

"No, just confirmation." I snickered, unable to help it. I used to try outraging him before the pneumonia hit, just because he had the best reactions. "The ships?"

"Oh, right, the ships…" He sighed again, this time in frustration. "Not exaggeration, and not sailor superstition. I was actually out on the seas when it first appeared." He shuddered, crossing his arms. "A ship full of monsters. It was a miracle we made it out. The ship sailing ahead of us didn't."

"Why did this not reach Frelia?" Tana asked, with a small frown. But it was a thoughtful frown, not an accusing one, and she leaned forward a little, eager to hear the answer. "I know we sent messages ahead?"

"You did?" Victor asked, looked resigned about something. "I hope it's the right people who got it."

"Right people?"

"The destruction of our sea trade has left Carcino in a particular spot of trouble, especially given the war." Victor glanced up at the ceiling, and I looked around to see Eirika and Tana listening closely, while Helen _tried_ to get Sam to let Ephraim go. But Sam and Ephraim both seemed to be having fun. "So, Carcino is divided. Some side with Grado to make money and not starve, or because they value profit over morals. Others side with Frelia."

"…Oh…"

"And what's the situation here?" Eirika asked. She frowned, looking serious. "We saw people searching…"

"Bounty hunters are looking for the royal twins of Renais, among other 'treacherous people'."

"…Gods…"

"Yep. Meaning you guys have to get out of the port. Immediately." He smiled ruefully, but there was a sparkle to his eyes. "Fortunately, though, I am able to assist! I've a wagon, and some spare merchant clothes and things. It'll be fun."

"The others in our group, though…" Eirika bit her lip and nodded. "No, you're right. We _must_ leave. The others can find their own ways out. I have faith."

"Precisely." He stood up then and stretched. "Let's head into the back."

"Thank you."

"It's fine. I like Renais a lot, Princess Eirika, and Emma's an old friend." His smile warmed. "I'm glad to assist, but when this is all over, remember to buy my wares, okay?"

"…It's a deal."

"Wait, Emma…" Helen suddenly snagged my arm as the others ducked into the back with Victor. Even Ephraim and Same. "Why don't you just stay here?" she asked, looking at me beseechingly. I hesitated, grimacing. "I'm sure Victor and I can talk away your presence. Or bribe."

"I…" I began. It was hard to get out the words. It was tempting. But I… "I can't…" I winced as her face fell. "I've lost a lot, Helen. I can't lose more."

"...Gods, you are _just_ like your parents." She smiled bitterly, and tears fell down her cheeks. "I had this same argument with your father before he left because of an emergency _and_ your mother before she went saved all those people." She cupped my face. "Don't go see Mary yet, though. You and I both know…"

"Mary would chew me out and throw me back to life."

"She would. She's my daughter." She tugged my arm and took me towards a different room than the others. A quick glance around proved it must've been her room; she had the same pictures and trinkets about. The one on her nightstand was of Mary, Jacob, and me. "I found a few things when I was unpacking."

"Oh?" Noticing her looking through some container in the corner, I picked up the portrait and smiled sadly at it. I remembered sitting for it; three months later, Mary and Jacob were dead. "Like what?"

"Oh, a couple of things I know Mary borrowed and never returned." She tossed me a couple of dresses I barely recognized. When I held them up, though, I did remember lending them to Mary for some festivals. "And… this." She stood up and turned, holding out some light grey leather-metal gauntlets I… vaguely recognized.

"What are those?" I set the portrait down, frowning. "No one in your family fought?"

"No, these were your father's, Emma." She walked over and slid them on me, a bit loose, but decent enough. "He normally wore them. Apparently, the attack that took his life was so sudden, though, that he didn't have a chance to put them on. A shame, since it might've saved them." She unbuckled the front-most buckles, and revealed that the gauntlets actually had containers. The left one had a dagger; the right one had vials of liquid. I knew both were poison, just by knowing him. "Tabitha asked me to keep them. They were too painful for her to look at."

"…Oh." I flexed my arms and curled my fingers into fists. The leather was stiff, but serviceable. I'd need to get it resized eventually, but they would work. "I see."

"Maybe they can keep you safe. At the least, they're yours. They should've been yours a while ago." She hugged me tightly. "And, Emma, promise to come back."

"…Okay." I hugged her too. "I promise." I held still, letting her hold me until Victor called, twice, and even then, she was reluctant to let me go. And I knew why.

My parents had also promised to come back. And they hadn't. I could only hope… I, at least, could keep my promise.

* * *

'Remember. You cannot react to anything you hear or see.' With those ominous words, Victor went to distract some of the guards on the other side of town. Helen refused to let us leave until we each got lots of hugs, prayers, and food, just in case. Sam gave us hugs too, and even led us to a little shortcut through town he used to sneak out, on the condition that we wouldn't tell his mom. As we walked, we came up with a cover story; Tana and Eirika were merchants, while Ephraim and I were mercenary guards, and we even worked on a few lies to make sure we could remember.

All of that, though, was almost for naught when we reached the open part of the market and caught sight of corpses. Civilian corpses. Grado soldiers had joined the bounty hunters, and they didn't even care about giving people a chance.

"Keep moving forward," I whispered as we walked past. Thankfully, Sam had gone home prior to us seeing this. "Move forward, head down, don't look…"

"Why are they doing this, though?" Tana murmured in return. She gripped Ephraim's arm tightly, and I wasn't sure if it was for her own comfort or to make sure Ephraim didn't lunge to attack. "Are they… they can't…"

"If I had to guess, they're trying to draw us out," Ephraim explained. He grit his teeth and kept on walking. Each step felt like a knife through my heart, like I was killing something essential to _me_. "But I'm not sure it's a fight we can win. Maybe if we had the others too, but we're all separated."

"We should've stayed together and been obvious. It might've been easier on the people."

"Or worse. Impossible to know."

"So, we just… have to leave them behind…" Eirika mumbled. Her hands shook, and I wondered if she was thinking of the little girl who died in front of her. I was. I remembered her, and the villagers who died because of the spiders. "Because if we're caught, it's over for us."

"…Yeah," Ephraim replied. He kept glancing back, and I couldn't blame him. We were too. The crowd was screaming as the soldiers seized someone from the crowd. "Is that… a child…?" All of us froze as we realized he was right. They'd picked a child. "That's…"

"This is…" I began, hesitating. Logically, we needed to get out of here. And no small part of me was screaming to not care. But the rest of me… and the others… "Ephraim?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…?" I winced as the child _screeched_ , kicking and flailing, as he was successfully pulled from the crowd. "If you've got a plan, I'll hear it. I'll _gladly_ hear it. But that plan…" My mouth went dry as the child was dragged to someone with an axe still dripping with blood. "It has to include us escaping alive. All of us. If you can think of that…"

"…How much danger are you willing to gamble?" His eyes narrowed, likely trying to decide how much time we even had. "Because…"

"Gamble? Danger? Sounds like me playing bait again." I shrugged, somehow not surprised. Brynhildr stood out. So did a redheaded wyvern rider. "I'm okay with that."

"I was thinking you _and_ I…"

"No, Ephraim," Eirika protested instantly. She frowned slightly and her hand fell to her rapier. "I'm bad at lying. I'll play bait with Emma." She glanced at me, and after a moment, I nodded. "Okay, you two have fun."

"Wait, what?" Ephraim yelped. Tana, however, tugged him back. "Hold on… my plan, so it's my…"

"Your plan, but Emma asked." She and I both stepped away, waving. "We'll meet you to the south."

"Eir… hang on a moment!" But we didn't. Even as he continued to protest, likely because of the danger, Eirika and I dove into the crowd, trusting Tana to keep him on track. We split up after a moment, with a silent agreement of what we'd do. Make scenes, and then rely on Brynhildr to do her thing and keep us out of trouble.

We really banked on that too much. I needed to spoil her more. But that was a thought for another time, because as soon as I pushed through the crowd, in a little opening not far from where the axeman was preparing to kill the child, I screamed as loud as I could: "BRYNHILDR!"

In an instant, Brynhildr responded with her own screech, a deafening warcry that rattled the windows behind me. She swooped over the city, taking the most direct route towards me, and I jumped on her when she edged close, not even waiting for her to stop. "Child killer." And with those two words, she growled and flew over the crowd, like a vengeful angel.

She snatched the axe man up in her claws, and launched into the sky, higher and higher. I clung tightly, and ignored the screams of the crowd and the man Brynhildr held. We flew over the sea and I lightly tapped Brynhildr's side. She took the signal and dropped the man, and down he fell, screaming all the while. The scream abruptly ended with a loud 'splash', and I looked down to see the water foam up, and the waves carrying splotches of red out. Before long, the body surfaced, bobbing up and down like a damn apple in a barrel.

I grit my teeth and signaled Brynhildr to head down again. She shook her head, protesting, but then I pointed to where Eirika was surrounded by Grado soldiers, bleeding but glaring in determination. I would've laughed at how she instantly dropped down, except I was too busy hanging on. She screeched to addle the soldiers, and Eirika, dramatically, actually turned away and jumped _off_ the edge of the docks.

I barely managed to snag her hand before she hit the water and I swore I bruised something in my shoulder as I pulled her into the saddle behind me. She gave me a smile and a hug before switching to hold on and we took to the skies again, keeping just low enough for them to decide a direction before we went above the clouds and heading further south. We landed quickly into some forest and we walked off the paths, poor Brynhildr awkwardly maneuvering through the branches and roots.

For a moment, I wondered how we were going to _find_ Ephraim or Tana. But then, before long, Tana skipped over. "Hey there," she greeted, waving. She had been seated on a stump, surrounded by the things Helen and Victor had given us. "We got through easily, by the way. Ephraim chatted with the guards like they were old friends."

"I knew letting him go was the right choice," Eirika sighed. She winced as she tried to wave back. "Ah… sorry, I took some injuries."

"Yeah, let's get you checked over." Tana pulled out a first aid kit with a smile. "We've got lots of stuff. I hope they'll be okay."

"I do as well. But, for now, we'll just have to pray." Eirika smiled bravely, and sat down on the stump. I helped Brynhildr settle in behind her so that she could lean back. "Where's Ephraim?"

"Checking the area." Tana crouched down and started cleaning Eirika's wounds, frowning and hesitant the whole time, despite doing it rather well. I wondered if it was because this was her first time treating an injury not from a training bout. "He's been a bit, though…"

"I'll go check on him," I volunteered, shrugging. I then had to fight back my wince as my shoulder protested the movement vehemently. "Where's your pegasus?"

"I whistled for him, so hopefully, not far," Tana answered. She smiled sweetly at me. "And Ephraim went that way." She pointed a little farther south. "Be careful."

"I'll try." I made a point to give both her and Eirika a hug before walking down the path, wincing as my legs began aching too. I sighed, shaking my head, and wondered if it had even been successful. We'd had no time to check on the child or… anything. It was such a gamble, and we didn't even know if we 'won' or not. We just knew _we_ didn't die.

I sighed again, this time at myself for being so… idealistic. I knew better than to think you could save everyone, especially in a war. Hell, I'd killed too many people for that. But still, it would've been nice to know.

Sounds of talking caught my ear, and I pushed forward excitedly, wondering if it was Ephraim with one of the others. I slowed almost instantly, though, as I remembered there were probably Grado soldiers on patrol, so I made myself move carefully, stealthily. I winced at every leaf that crunched, and each twig that broke, knowing I wasn't doing that good of a job. But it ended up being all right as I soon discovered. After all, while it was Ephraim being confronted by a Grado soldier, based on the armor, it… wasn't all that threatening.

"I… I am not afraid," the little girl stammered. She frowned heavily, even as she shook and brought her spear up. She wore no helmet, easily showing how scared she really was. "I… I am a soldier of Grado and… and…"

"And you're going to fall on your ass with that form," Ephraim instantly retorted. He actually went over and corrected her stance. "And you'll want to hold it like this, as otherwise, you'll just lose the lance. Trust me; I've done it."

"…Um…"

"Ephraim, she _is_ sort of trying to attack us," I pointed out dryly, startling them both. I had to fight the urge to laugh at how ridiculous this all was. "Sort of."

"Not with that stance, she isn't," Ephraim replied. He smiled slightly at me, relieved. "If I am to be stabbed, I will be stabbed properly. How is Eirika?"

"She's fine, though she took some injuries from drawing attention away from the kid about to be executed." I walked over and sighed, almost reaching back to fix my ponytail, but remembering in time how my shoulder was injured. "I managed to kill the actual executioner, but that's about it."

"…Wait, Princess Eirika was… helping a civilian?" the little girl ask. She frowned, looking confused. "…But they said that Princess Eirika is a cruel and merciless fiend who tried to lead our prince to his doom." She pointed at Ephraim. "And they say that Prince Ephraim is a demon! A beast who attacks anyone and everyone, and burns people on the stake!"

"…What the hell have people been saying about me?" Ephraim asked after a long moment of staring. "I didn't think I had _that_ bad of a reputaion."

"Considering you managed to get lucky enough to launch an assault on a fort and survive, twice…" I 'helpfully' reminded. He made a face. "And you made no secret of how you delighted in fighting…"

"That doesn't explain Eirika, you know." He sighed, though, and looked back at the girl. "Well, if we were those things, you'd already be dead."

"Well, there's still time. We could feed her to Brynhildr."

"I don't think she gets morbid humor, Emma." He still smiled slightly, though. "Girl, what's your name?"

"It's… um…" the girl stammered. She still looked _so_ confused. "It's Amelia. Amelia, from Silva."

"Well, Amelia, would you like to come with us?" Ephraim asked. I gave him an incredulous look, but he ignored me. "Surely you've realized this war is mad, right?"

"…Well…" She hesitated, and finally brought her lance down to her side. "I… actually, I joined because I admired General Duessel."

"He's a good man to look up to. I know that well." He smiled warmly. "How is he?"

"Well, I think. Though, he's been very outspoken in how little he likes this war."

"I can imagine. So, what will _you_ do?"

"…I think…" She sighed, drooping. "Oh, I don't know. I don't like thinking. I was told not to think."

"Soldiers are always told that. But thinking is how you determine whether you are on the right path or not." He held out his hand to her, and I decided craziness just ran through the Renasi royal family and everyone was too polite to say a damn thing about it. _Who recruited someone who tried to kill them?!_ And Joshua didn't count because he hadn't been planning on killing us in the first place. "Well?"

"…I'll travel with you. General Duessel speaks your praises, as does Prince Lyon." She frowned, and tried to look intimidating. Really, she looked like a kitten, but she had points for trying. "But I'll judge you on my own terms, and decide if the rumors are true."

"Certainly. And I shall do what I can to not betray your trust." He held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitating, she took the offered handshake. "So, Amelia, what brings you out here?"

"Huh? Oh!" She squeaked and coughed, smiling sheepishly. "I… uh… following someone dressed in black leathers like a mercenary and a Grado priestess. I thought it was suspicious."

"That… huh?"

"Oh, hey, that sounds like us!" To all of our shock, Joshua and Natasha actually stepped out from behind a tree, both looking as fresh as daisies, though Natasha's face was bright red. "Hello, everyone!" Joshua greeted warmly. I half-suspected they'd been hiding there for a bit, probably for him to flirt a little more. "If you're wondering why _we_ are here, we saw your dramatic display, petal, and guessed you went this way." He came over to give me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I laughed and kissed his cheek in return before hugging Natasha. "We also saw a new pegasus with Titania? Vanessa looked peeved at the sight."

"Tana is with us," Ephraim explained. He smiled softly, and gently nudged Amelia towards Natasha. "So, you two and Vanessa?"

"And Ross. He stayed with her." Joshua grinned. "So, things went a little not according to plan, huh? Who'd have thought?"

"Your sarcasm is truly your greatest weapon."

"I try, hawk. I try." He winked and then ruffled Amelia's hair as she passed by. She squeaked and looked so confused before ducking behind Natasha. "Ah, Grado propaganda victim. Stick near the lovely sister, little one. She'll help you."

"And we'll get Eirika and Tana to meet you guys at your camp?"

"Less of a camp and more of a 'wait here'. But Vanessa scouted a spot." Joshua grinned. "Let's get set up, though. I'm sure the others will be around before long."

That was certainly something to hope for. Gods, this was a mess…

* * *

Once we met up with Vanessa and Ross, we moved to a more defensible location, and then set up camp. Vanessa had some choice words for Tana, but ultimately, Tana's charm prevailed and she was welcomed into the group with smiles and hugs. Afterwards, the two started flying patrols, looking for the rest of our little group. I'd volunteered as well, but a quick word with Natasha made me rescind that. Brynhildr had pulled quite a few muscles pulling off everything she did on such short notice, and so, I chose to just let her rest and be spoiled like the amazing beast she was. It was probably a good thing, since Natasha also confirmed I'd stressed my shoulder badly, almost pulling it clear out of the socket. Dramatics involved far too much pain for my liking.

"I knew he'd have a section about his gloves in here," I murmured, flipping through Dad's notebook. I was on the edge of camp, reading while Brynhildr dried off. I'd just finished giving her a bath to get the blood off of her. I'd need to find some way to protect her claws, though; she'd chipped a couple grabbing that man. "So, that's what they do…" They were simpler poisons compared to some of the others, probably because they were meant to be hidden. "Huh…"

"There you are." Ephraim walked up then, frowning slightly. He paused when Brynhildr growled from behind me. "I am just doing a head count, Brynhildr," he explained, bringing his hands up. "Standard procedure as we try to figure out who isn't here."

"Looks like you've still got quite a way to go before you win her over." I couldn't help but tease, and he made a face. "Sorry about the trouble, though. I told Joshua."

"He's the one who sent me out here." He carefully came closer, one eye on Brynhildr, and peered over my shoulder. "Those are?"

"Some notebooks my dad left." I placed my hand on the pages, hiding the words. "Nothing important."

"Is that so?" His eyes narrowed slightly, and he pointed to a picture I hadn't covered. "That's a poisonous plant. Orson showed me it."

"…Yes, it is…"

"He said Sir Alex taught him."

"That makes sense." I awkwardly tried to subtly hide the pages more, but he just plucked it from my grasp easily. "Hey!"

"Holy hell, that's a lot of poisons." His eyes went comically wide as he flipped through. "Wow…"

"Don't just go stealing things from people!" I reached up to try and snag it, but winced as my shoulder keened. "Give that back!"

"Why are you looking through poisons?"

"…Because it could be useful." The words were hard to say, and I sighed, looking away. "That's all."

"Ah." He fell silent, and I had to fight off the urge to squirm. "Poison, huh?"

"Are you going to go on about poisons and honor?"

"No." He shook his head, still flipping through. "No, I know how war is. Hold onto honor, and you might just lose your life with it. I don't like it, and I wouldn't use it, but…" He shrugged. "When it comes to war, there is no 'higher ground'. It's just what you can live with."

"…Yeah…"

"But that leads me to my main concern. Is it something you can live with?" He looked down at me then, eyes concerned. "Is it something you _want_ to do?"

"I…" I had to admit. That took me off-guard, so much so that I had no immediate response. "Well…" It even took me a long moment to gather my thoughts together to come up with something. But he waited. He watched me and waited. "I don't know how to answer that."

"Because you don't even want to fight."

"No. I don't." The words sounded harder, harsher, than I would've liked. "Every person we kill… that's a world. People's worlds are shattered each time I kill someone. And I know that pain. I know what it's like being alone." My tone became angrier, but I didn't know who or what I was angry _at_. I spat the words on the ground in the hopes they'd shatter. "But I'm here."

"Because you can't stand losing anything else." He sounded sad, but he didn't look it when I glanced up. A good thing for him, since if he looked pitying, I might just have had Brynhildr scare him off. "It's why you can be so reckless too, isn't it? You can't help but do everything you can to protect your 'world' and the worlds of the people around you, because you want to escape that pain."

"Yes, I'm horribly selfish." I found myself glowering up at him anyway. Brynhildr growled behind me, a clear warning that she didn't like how I was annoyed. "Are you done psychoanalyzing me? If I wanted that, I would've talked to Moulder."

"No wonder you avoid him then." He returned his attention to the book, flipping through again. "You know… if you die, you put the weight of your life on those you protect. My father is proof of that." He paused, clearly gathering his thoughts. "It's why… I wanted to be the best at fighting, actually. Because I saw, every day, how the deaths of Sir Alex and Sir Felix weighed so heavily on my father."

"Well, until recently, Orson was the only one who would've missed me."

"And not Helen and Sam." He waited for a response, but I didn't have one. Because distantly, I'd known they would've too. It was just… "Well…?"

"…They would've." I sighed, looking down again. "Just even with her cheer, I can't help but wonder if she wished I'd died instead of Mary."

"Mary?"

"My best friend, her daughter. She died of pneumonia, whereas I'd caught just a really bad cold." I looked to my hand, remembering the weight of Mary's hand as she died. Brynhildr reached around and nuzzled my temple. "She acted cheerful, and welcoming, but you can't help but wonder." Though, her actions today… made me wonder if it had always just been in my head. Or maybe that part of her was drowned out. I didn't know.

"…When you're the only survivor, you always think people hate you. I'm sure there's a lot of people in Renais who wished I'd died while my father survived. Doubly so if Eirika had passed." He started flipping through the book again. "As for the poison, I'd say go with your conscious, ultimately. It's not like you're untrustworthy or anything." He paused, and laughed, showing me a page at the end of the journal. I felt myself tear up when I realized it was a sketch of _me_. "Looks like he hoped for a world where you wouldn't have to make this choice."

"…That makes sense. Mom always hoped Monica and I would never have to fight too." I sighed again, this time looking up at him. "...Maybe on Valter. He'd totally deserve it."

"That's true." He smiled and returned the book to me. "Or maybe when you're clearly outnumbered. Your life is very precious, Emma, and it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

"Why do I feel like that last part is your motto for life?" I studied him for a long moment. Brynhildr shifted behind me to get more comfortable. "So, why go into… all of that? Why ask?"

"Because I was worried since you agreed to come with, and I didn't want to sit on it. We're in war, after all." He smiled slightly. "And Sam told me to look out for you. Man's promise."

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard." Still, I laughed. "So, that's what you two were talking about."

"Among other things. He's got a crush on you."

"You're lying."

"Nope! We chatted about how amazing you are."

"Now you're _definitely_ lying." But I continued to laugh, and though he looked a little disgruntled, he softened for a smile. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh, good, you're not killing each other." Eirika skipped up then, beaming and waving. "Guess what!" she cheered, eyes sparkling. "The last of our group, Lute and Kyle, have returned!" She stopped briefly by Brynhildr to pet her nose before hugging both Ephraim and me, actually dragging Ephraim down for it. "We all made it!"

"We did?" I asked, incredulous. I didn't think… _all_ of us… "That's…!"

"Amazing!" Ephraim laughed. He shifted to hug both of us too, and I gave in and did the same. "Talk about luck. So, what's the plan?"

"Seth thinks we should just travel with Innes at this point," Eirika explained, pulling away. She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just so relieved."

"It's fine." He ruffled her hair and smiled. "In the morning, we'll send a message to Innes. If Carcino is divided, we really should travel together anyway."

"He's going to hurt us over Tana."

"Oh, gods, that's going to be hilarious." He stood up and offered his hands to us both to pull us up. "Let's return to camp."

"Yeah, sounds good," I murmured. I let him pull me up and petted Brynhildr's nose. "Time to head back to camp, sweetie." She gave me an annoyed look, but sighed and carefully got up as well. "And thank you for not biting Ephraim." Brynhildr gave him a dirty look before looking pointedly at Eirika. "Oh, you didn't want Eirika to fuss? You're the sweetest!"

"I fail to see how that's sweet!" Ephraim yelped, while Eirika laughed. "Come on!"

On that lovely note, we returned to camp in time to catch the start of songs and stories, as was quickly becoming our nightly tradition. After setting Brynhildr up by her tent, I sat next to Joshua and leaned on his shoulder as we all sang. I noticed, to my amusement, that he 'just so happened' to have his hand on Natasha's, and caught Natasha's eye. She flushed, but smiled slightly, mouthing 'later'. I grinned before returning to the songs, looking at everyone and just… marveling at how we all made it.

The start of this new journey was already so messed up, but somehow, that was okay. We… made it okay.

* * *

 _Notes on Tana:_

 _The 16 year old princess of Frelia, who snuck out to follow us because she is tired of being the only one 'safe'._

 _Inexperienced, due to only recently completing her pegasus knight training, but holds great potential. She just has to be encouraged to not push herself_

 _Bright and smiling, she brings a certain cheer to the group that is sorely needed. King Hayden is going to kill us, but it's hard to regret another flier._

 _Notes on Amelia:_

 _A 15 year old new recruit of Grado, fooled into fighting by propaganda painting the Renaisi twins as evil._

 _While she has potential, she requires a lot of training to even have a chance. Franz and Gilliam, though, have volunteered to help her out, and she seems quite eager about it._

 _Kindhearted and stubborn, with a strong determination to get stronger. She won't say why, but I recognize the look of loss in her eyes. Like me, she's determined to not lose everything again._

* * *

Author's note: Bit different than in game. In game, you get ambushed by bounty hunters and there's a battle. Instead, civilians get killed while the crew runs. Helen, Sam, and Victor are all characters that featured in the Prologue of this story. And have a nice heart to heart with Ephraim and Emma. Amelia can be recruited by Eirika (on her path), Ephraim (on his path), or Franz (both paths).

Next Chapter - Revolt at Carcino


	16. Chapter 10) Revolt at Carcino

Chapter 10) Revolt at Carcino

* * *

 _We were ambushed, learning that Carcino is torn into pieces by a civil war. Determined to not turn back, though, we instead travel south, hoping to meet up with Prince Innes to warn him of the situation. We travel slowly and cautiously, avoiding many would-be bounty hunters. We fliers go our own way for most of the trip, simply because of how hard it is to hide._

 _As we travel, all of us feel like we're running out of time. I pray that isn't the case._

* * *

"So, Myrrh is doing fine?" I asked, the wind whipping past. Tana, Vanessa, and I were flying ahead of the army to meet with Prince Innes and his mercenary guards. "Good, I think Ephraim has been worried."

"She was when I last saw her," Tana confirmed, smiling. "I'm surprised she stayed behind, though."

"Well, this was originally a stealth mission, and she stands out even more than Eirika and Ephraim."

"What do you mean by that?"

"In case you haven't notice, Tana, there's some very unique hair colors among our group." I grinned at her and then laughed as Brynhildr playfully ducked in close to let me tug a bit of her ponytail. "You're the only one with this hair color, for instance."

"She's right, truthfully," Vanessa added, swooping in close. She tried to remain the serious one, but sometimes, she couldn't resist gossiping with Tana and me, like now. "Between hair color, armor color, and movement, it's pretty easy to guess who is who."

"Plus weapons," I added. "I bet you used that to help differentiate Joshua and me from above."

"No, I used the fact that you were never far from Princess Eirika in a battle. It's almost strange to not see you there now."

"Sadly, being a flier, I can't do that anymore." It would be far too obvious at this point. "Anyway, are we too far ahead of the army?"

"Mmm… I think we can go a little bit more." Vanessa glanced back, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, a bit. They're just within sight."

"Then let's go!" I grinned, and Brynhildr happily growled before darting ahead. Tana, laughing, followed me, while Vanessa gave us the most fondly exasperated look. "So, Tana, are you looking forward to seeing your brother?"

"I'm going to get such a lecture!" she groaned. Still, she was smiling. "We'll get into an argument within seconds. Just watch."

"I'll take your word for it," I laughed. But even as I did, Brynhildr growled. And it wasn't her 'happy' one this time. "Huh?" I leaned over the side, frowning. I could only see clouds. "What's wrong, Brynhildr? What do you…?" My words died as I caught little wisps of sound. Clanging. Screams. Battle. I knew them far too well. "Uh oh."

I didn't say anything more. I didn't need to. Tana and her pegasus dropped first, and I followed close behind, hearing Vanessa call out. But the four of us simply flew ahead, and we rounded a mountain range to see a battle had broken out. Soldiers wearing various colors, bearing a crest I didn't recognize. But that told me who they were anyway, because it meant they weren't from Grado. They were soldiers of Carcino. This was part of Carcino's civil war. We were running straight into it.

But, far worse, from here, we could see that all the soldiers were converging on a single stronghold, and even from here, I could catch sight of… if it wasn't Prince Innes, it was someone who had the same hair color _and_ wielded a bow. And it was a hair color I hadn't seen on anyone but a Frelian. He fought with two others, matching how Prince Innes left with two Jehannan mercenaries, one of which had Jehanna-red hair and the other wielding a sword that just _looked_ expensive.

Brynhildr growled, jerking her head to the side. I looked over and caught sight of ballistae, so I signaled to go up, above the clouds. But once up there, with Tana and Vanessa, I could only stare. I had no words, and neither did they. Tana was pale, and her hands shook on the reins. Vanessa was calm, but there was worry in her eyes.

"Are… do either of you have ranged options?" I asked. I shrugged helplessly when both looked at me. "I… I don't. I don't carry javelins. I have good aim, but I don't have the strength to throw it reliably. Or something. I don't know. I'm bad at it, and I had other things to learn, like flying. And getting my strength back up in my arm."

"I didn't think we'd be fighting, so I'm only armed with a simple iron lance," Vanessa replied, grimacing. "I don't know why I thought that. It's us."

"So… what do we do? I can probably carry…" I glanced at Brynhildr and she nodded. "I can definitely snag one. Maybe two. You two can both…" I trailed off as I realized something. "Oh, but we also need to let Eirika and Ephraim know that there's a battle."

"Precisely. We need a messenger." Vanessa glanced at Tana, but Tana was looking down with a dark, stubborn look on her face. It was obvious that no one, not even a god, would convince her to leave her brother. "Brynhildr is the only one who has a chance to get two out. So, that leaves me as messenger."

"It seems so."

"…Don't be reckless." She gave me a serious look, and a frown. "Just sneak in. Grab them. Get out. It's simple. Don't make it complicated."

"Um… okay?" I shrank back, and Brynhildr growled. "Why am I getting this sudden lecture?"

"Because you're the one who does reckless stupid things that should really kill you, but somehow don't when people are in trouble." Vanessa glowered, but tugged her pegasus back. "Sneak. Rescue. Quiet. Keep them safe until we get here. Don't fight."

She took off then, and I couldn't decide if I felt annoyed or guilty about the lecture. Annoyed, because I disliked being patronized. Guilty, because I'd apparently worried her enough to get one. But I decided it didn't matter. It was good advice. It was a good plan. We'd do it.

I looked to Tana and rested my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She took a deep breath, nodded, and tightened her grip on the reins. I looked at her worriedly before I nodded back and urged Brynhildr away. Then we both dropped from the skies, ducking back under the clouds. We veered around to the south side, using the mountains for cover to hide our approach. I wanted to just drop down and pull them up. I knew Tana did too. But Vanessa said 'sneak', so we were going to do our best.

However, everything slowed when I saw Prince Innes's leg suddenly give out from under him, leaving him wide open for a blow that tore into his side, his entire midsection going bright crimson. Tana, next to me, stiffened, paling fast. I saw the fear in her face. I knew that fear. I'd felt that fear. I knew the pain that could follow that fear. I… I didn't want her to feel it. Because it was an ache… that didn't go away.

Brynhildr knew that pain too. She tensed and growled, and dove, wings pressing tight against my legs as we more fell than dove. Wind rushing past, the shapes growing larger and larger… some part of me regretted this. Some part of me knew I'd have to apologize a thousand times to Vanessa. But, at the same time, I… there wasn't anything else I could do. There wasn't anything else Brynhildr could do. Because this army was our family, our world. And we'd both lost too much. That's why she bonded with me. That's why I got along with her.

Gods, I was going to have to apologize so much.

Brynhildr's wings snapped out at the last second, jerking me up, and we practically skimmed the grass as we flew towards the attackers. I snatched the soldier that had injured Prince Innes. Brynhildr seized two more in her claws. Then we went up. And up and up and up and up. Almost to the clouds again. She dropped her two easily, blood streaming up and falling down as they screamed and screamed and screamed. Those screams made me freeze, and my grip tightened on the one I held. I… I couldn't drop them. Not like this. Even if they'd hurt Prince Innes, scared Tana… I couldn't kill them like this. Because even if I _hated him so damn much right now_ … someone loved them. Someone considered them a vital piece of their world.

So, instead, I urged Brynhildr towards the mountains not far away, found a flat area, and gently set them down. "…You should really get home to your family and friends," I murmured to them. They just stared, stunned, face an interesting mess of horror and confusion. "But for now, just stay out of the fight." I tugged Brynhildr's reins, but she growled, head lowering to bare fang. The soldier paled and stumbled away, falling on their ass. "Brynhildr, no." I tugged a little harder, but she still growled. "Brynhildr, they have family too. Let's just let them go." I looked for a distraction and found one instantly. "Brynhildr, there are ballistae. Let's deal with them instead."

She growled again, but began backing away slowly. She hunkered down and snarled, scaring the soldier, and then took to the air. She hovered a bit, staring the soldier down, before turning away, almost sulking.

"I know, sweetie. I know." I patted the side of her neck, and sighed, looking at the ballistae. Neither was paying attention to where I was, surprisingly enough. I supposed their attention was more on where their friends fell, as even from here, I could see the splattered remains. "Let's disable the ballistae, and think of how we're going to apologize to Vanessa."

Brynhildr screeched and dove, more or less tackling the ballistae in an effort to bleed off her frustration. I winced as the wood splintered and bounced off her scales and my armor, and I leaned around her to stab the archer before Brynhildr ripped them apart, mostly to make sure they died quickly. I still winced when she picked up the body and shook it like a dog with a toy before throwing the bloody remains at the other ballistae wielder. I tried to rein her in, but I had to duck under some magic spells and couldn't stop her from jumping to the other one to eviscerate them with her claws. I focused on cutting the actual ballistae to render it useless before jerking the reins to get Brynhildr to fly up. She still resisted, but did so, just barely avoiding another fire strike. The remains of her kill tumbled down, falling on those below. A few screamed. I didn't blame them.

She growled, and looked ready to attack again, but I jerked the reins again, urging her up and up above the clouds. The blood dripped down, marking our place, but without the ballistae, they didn't have the range to attack us. I took a moment to breath, reminded again that while Brynhildr let me ride her, she was very much her own creature. She loved me, and therefore tolerated me and my orders. But she could ignore me if she wished, and gods, she just did. Because I'd denied her a kill she had desperately wanted.

"We really need to work at that," I murmured. Brynhildr growled, shaking her head. A hand dropped from her mouth. "That could've killed me, Brynhildr. Then Eirika would be sad." She tossed her head back to look at me before dropping it again. "We're also going to be in so much trouble with the others." I leaned down to pat her neck, and grimaced as I felt a sharp pain lance through my shoulder and wrist. I'd managed to hurt myself. "How are you doing, Brynhildr?" She not-purred and shook her head. She was hurting too. "Yeah, we need to not be so dramatic."

I gently tugged her to the side and we arced our way around back to the stronghold. We made sure to come from the south to hide a little better, and I checked for any attackers. There were none, and Tana's pegasus was on the ground, grazing on the grass. I led Brynhildr off to the side and landed carefully, looking around the area. In the doorway, Prince Innes and Tana argued, though he also gently hugged her as she sobbed. She was trying to bandage his injury, but it seemed to just keep bleeding. And the blood seemed like a different color than it should've been.

"So, I'm told you're called Emma." A man walked up then, voice carrying a distinct Jehannan accent. He carried himself tall, confident, wearing clothes deceptively simple. A skilled mercenary, and one with a noticeable scar across his face, cheek to cheek, right across the nose. I knew a mercenary by this description: Gerik the Desert Tiger. "That true, lass?" he asked, eyeing Brynhildr warily. She simply growled in return. "My name is-"

"Gerik, yes?" I replied. I did my best to smile politely as he nodded. "And yes, my name is Emma."

"Girl Tethys met in Serafew?" He smiled when I nodded. "Good. She's been worried. Sadly, she's scouting for us at the moment. You mind fetching a healer for our employer?"

"Prince Innes?" I looked again at Prince Innes and Tana, and that wound that just seemed wrong. "What happened?"

"Think he's poisoned, truthfully." He glanced back as well, frowning. "We were having dinner in the lovely house there." He pointed towards the house we could barely see among the mountains. "While we were enjoying ourselves, Prince Innes took a sip of the wine, and quietly forbade Tethys and I from having any ourselves. He also didn't touch it again."

"Poison. Lovely." I couldn't help but wince, thinking of how I'd considered it. If I used it, would there be soldiers crying over their friends, like how Tana was crying? I couldn't… "I'll get one."

Brynhildr and I took off again, hovering near the clouds while we surveyed the area. By this point, our army had arrived. The battle was well underway, and there was chaos all over the place. But it was a chaos I was used to, a fact I wasn't comfortable with, but I could use to my advantage anyway. I scanned the battle below, hunting for gold hair and white clothes likely stained by now. Natasha was easier for me to find, particularly since Moulder tended to hang back and set up a field infirmary, while Natasha rushed across the field as the field medic. And, of course, I was just closer to her. And so was Brynhildr.

Brynhildr, actually, found her first and began descending. I leaned over the side, and caught sight of her healing an injury on Franz before seeing him off. "Natasha!" I called. She looked up and smiled warmly at me. "Hey, sorry, Prince Innes is badly hurt."

"We figured when we saw you drop," she replied, waving. I tried to guide Brynhildr to land, but I quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. The area was just a little too chaotic to get enough space for her. "Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika both told Vanessa that ordering you to not be reckless when there might be someone hurt was akin to ordering the wind to stop blowing."

"I still feel bad…"

"You should. We worry." She glanced around and sighed, coming over. "Alright. I'll need help up."

"You could, you know, just ask me." Joshua appeared from nowhere, already covered in blood. But he lifted Natasha up easily and got her into the saddle. "I got the part about someone being hurt bad," he continued, helping Natasha settle. His hands lingered on hers, and she squeezed his gently. "How bad we talking?"

"We might have poison, dear brother," I answered. Both of them winced, and guilt gnawed on my stomach. "So, sorry, but I must steal her away!"

"Very amusing, petal." He grinned and patted my leg. "We need to get you a ranged option so that you're not quite as reckless."

"I'm trying, damn it!" I squirmed when both gave me amused-exasperated looks. "…Mostly… some of it was Brynhildr's fault this time?"

"Brynhildr, please remember that our petal is far more fragile that you." He scratched her behind the eye-ridge and she nuzzled his hand, like an apology. "On with you."

"Try to be careful." I leaned down to kiss his forehead. I tasted blood, but chose to not comment on it. "See you soon."

Brynhildr took off then, doing her best to be careful and not knock over Joshua. He watched us leave until we were near the clouds before darting off, disappearing into the chaos. I shot Natasha a cheeky little smile over my shoulder, and she made a face, blushing prettily, and mouthed 'later'. I nodded and let the smile fall, directing Brynhildr back. I caught sight of Eirika and Ephraim below, fighting side by side. They happened to glance up, and Eirika waved, so I waved back before continuing on to the stronghold. We had to dodge a couple of spells, but we managed it rather well, making it to the stronghold before too much time had passed. Natasha didn't even wait for Brynhildr to fully land before hopping off and running to Prince Innes and Tana. A couple of new corpses showed they'd had to defend themselves in the time it had taken me to fetch her, but no one looked dead yet. Besides the actual corpses, I mean.

Gerik was waiting for me when I arrived, and walked over when I landed. "So, do you mind giving me a ride, lass?" he asked. I gave him a curious look and he grimaced. "Our glorious guild, despite actually being good at this most of the time, might have given one of mine a contract for the opposing side. Though, with this revolution thing, things are a little confusing."

"So, Tethys saw someone that you might know from your group and you need confirmation?" I asked. He nodded, smiling slightly. "Well, come on aboard the Emma and Brynhildr delivery service."

"You're hurting, though, right?" His smile grew as I hesitated. "Snatching that person up like that? I'd be surprised if you weren't nursing some sprains. Your wyvern is careful when she lands, favoring a side."

"Do you want a ride or not?"

"You hate it when people read you, don't you?"

"Ride. Or. Not."

"Yep, you do." However, he stiffened as Brynhildr growled. "Uh…"

"Brynhildr, he's just making conversation. Let him be." I leaned over the side, and noticed something. "Oh, gross, is that someone's finger caught in your teeth?"

"You were definitely raised by a Jehannan. Or someone raised by a Jehannan." He eyed the saddle warily and sighed, climbing on. "Gods, I hate riding."

"You ride?"

"I know horseback riding, yes."

"Oh, well, hold on, and try not to scream."

"Shit, that always means bad things."

Gerik didn't scream when Brynhildr took off. He did nearly fall though, and probably bruised my midsection while trying to stay on. Luckily, I was strapped in, as otherwise, we'd both be flying off. But, instead, we went towards the clouds and Gerik pointed the way. Before long, we noticed a cluster of soldiers, and a pink haired woman standing apart from them, dressed noticeably different.

"And, as usual, Tethys is right," Gerik sighed, eyes narrowed. "That's Marisa. Gods damn it, can you drop me off near?"

"Yes?" I replied automatically. Then I realized what he just said. "You want me to drop you off in enemy territory to talk to someone who might be contractually obligated to kill you?" I gave him an incredulous look before rolling my eyes. "Joshua's right. My recklessness is totally something I inherited from my mom."

"Joshua?"

"Another mercenary with us. And if you mention it's the same name as the prince, you'll need to pay him. He hears it a lot."

"I'd imagine." His eyes promised more questions, but he nodded. "Alright. Drop me off?"

"For the record, you're insane."

"For your notes, I'm a mercenary."

"Point made." I nudged Brynhildr closer, and I helped Gerik dismount before taking to the skies again, hovering closely, just in case. I watched as the two conversed, and then Gerik waved up and pointed in the direction of the stronghold. I assumed that was him saying everything was alright, and headed back for it.

By the time I'd returned, Prince Innes was back on his feet. He was clutching his side, and he looked far too pale, but he set his jaw stubbornly. "I promise I will not attack, but I will not stay back while others fight," he ground out. Tana and Natasha both looked exasperated, so I gathered they were on the losing tail end of an argument. "Trying to trap me was a mistake, and failing, an expensive one." His eyes were hard. "I intend to show them just how expensive."

"You're not going to do much with that wound, stupid," Tana snapped. He simply ruffled her hair with a bloody hand. "Of all the times to be stubborn!"

"I really don't need to hear that from you. _You_ snuck out."

"Do I need to take anyone anywhere?" I called, mostly to stop the argument. I waved as they turned to look at me. "Hello! Glad you're not dead!

"What did you do with the one who hit me?" Prince Innes called. He relaxed slightly and nodded at me. I had a feeling that would be the only thanks I'd get, but that was fine. "I'm curious."

"Somewhere in the mountains. Brynhildr wanted to rip them up." I patted her neck soothingly as she growled. She _really_ didn't like that she didn't get to do that. "Do we need deliveries?"

"I, at least, need to return to the front, Emma…" Natasha murmured. She turned to face me, giving me a smile. "Do you mind?"

"Nah, we're good," I reassured, smiling back. "Hop on!"

"Thank you!" She climbed on behind me, and sighed. "He's the most stubborn person in this entire army, and there is a lot of competition for that title."

"Well, let's let Tana deal with him." I clicked my tongue and Brynhildr took to the skies yet again. By this point, the battle had moved to the front gates of the large palace-building-thing, meaning Moulder's little field infirmary was set up not far away, the area cleared enough for me to land Brynhildr.

As I helped Natasha off, though, Moulder rushed over. His robes were stained red, and he had blood smeared on his face. "I'm sorry, Emma, but I need a favor," he began, not even bothering with a greeting. "The battle is going well, but it's a narrow field. I've wounded stranded-"

"You need a flier to get them," I finished. I frowned, and glanced around. "Where's Vanessa?"

"Unfortunately, one of the wounded. There's too many weapons for a pegasus knight. Wyverns…"

"Are better armored." I nodded, understanding. "Alright. I'll get them."

"And please report to the healers after the battle for a check, because I'm sure you sprained _something_ in all that." He took Natasha by the shoulder and led her into the infirmary. I debated replying, but decided I didn't have the time, and so, once again, took to the air with Brynhildr, this time swooping for the edges of the field.

Almost immediately, Neimi, bleeding from a head wound, waved me down. "Amelia's unconscious!" she shouted as I got close. She pulled Amelia up from the ground and we worked together to get her into my saddle. "She just passed out."

"Where's the main wound…?" I murmured, more to myself. I found it on her stomach and pressed against it to try and stem the bleeding. "How are you?"

"I'll be fine. The wound is worse than it is." She smiled sweetly at me. "Colm's not far away."

"Okay." I smiled back and took to the skies, heading back for Moulder and Natasha.

Movement caught my eye, and I glanced down, curious. I caught sight of someone taking a side path to the south, away from where I'd dropped off that soldier. I thought about chasing it down, but then Amelia shifted against me, whimpering, and I flew away, back to Natasha and Moulder. I'd report it, but Amelia took priority. Particularly when she was bleeding out.

I just hoped it wouldn't bite us in the ass. But it probably would.

* * *

"Oh, goodness, little wing, you need some better soap for your hair," Tethys chided as she brushed my hair. "I have quite a few for you to try."

"Sounds good," I murmured, honestly half-asleep. It had been a while since someone else had brushed my hair. Honestly, it had been a while since _I_ brushed my hair. I tended to just pull it into a braid and be done with it these days. "You smell nice."

"Geranium perfume. It's simple, but a favorite." She laughed softly and kissed the top of my head. "Are you asleep?"

"Not yet…" But I was close. It was just so comfy in here. I was in a room piled with blankets and pillows with Joshua, Tethys, Marisa, and Gerik, hanging out while Eirika, Ephraim, Tana, and Prince Innes talked to someone who was apparently in charge. I'd originally planned on hanging with Brynhildr, or helping Natasha, but Tethys snagged me and dragged me off before I could. "Battles are tiring."

"And you were fetching all sorts of wounded towards the end."

"Not too many…" I'd spent the rest of the battle ferrying the wounded to the infirmary. "You really do smell amazing."

"I'll share if you still think I smell nice when you're awake, sweetie."

"Having fun over there, Tethys?" Joshua called. I turned my attention over to where he, Gerik, and Marisa were sharing a few bottles of wine. Checked for poison prior, of course. "You look it."

"Why wouldn't I be having fun brushing and braiding a pretty girl's hair?" Tethys instantly retorted with a laugh. "Particularly since I've been quite worried since Serafew."

"Oh, wait, you were there too? Must've missed you."

"I was gathering information, so I know better than to go near Jehannan mercenaries. We have our pride."

"I lost my pride in a bet _years_ ago." He grinned as they all laughed, Marisa's noticeably quieter. "Well, if I had, I probably wouldn't have met Natasha and petal here, so I think it all worked out."

"Too true, Joshua."

"So, how many times have you heard 'like the prince'?" Gerik asked. Joshua just groaned, flopping back into some pillows. "Also, where did all the pillows come from? I was just dragged here."

"Oh, Tethys and I just raided a bunch of ruined guest rooms," Joshua answered easily, shrugging. "Her idea."

"Of course."

"Hey, it's a good one."

"You know; I'd heard of a swordsman named 'Joshua' among Guild gossip," Marisa commented. Her eyes were sharp, focused. I somehow doubted she'd be anything else. "The rumors in the Guild said he was one with the wind."

"High praise from the Crimson Flash!" Joshua laughed. There was a bit of sadness to it, but I wasn't sure the others noticed. "Bit surprised that I'm talked about there, though. I try to not stand out too much and I take most of the traveling jobs."

"So, this isn't your first time outside Jehanna, then."

"I've been a mercenary for ten years, crimson. I have been most everywhere by this point." Joshua took another sip of his drink. "I was on my way back when I got caught up in all of this. How's Jehanna?"

"That's…" Marisa fell silent, and nursed her drink. She glanced at Gerik, who decided that the ceiling was incredibly interesting. "Bad."

"I figured." Joshua's smile was wry. "How bad are we talking?"

"Between tariff increases, and the lack of rains and floods for the main river…" Gerik began. He sighed and knocked back the rest of his drink before pouring himself some more. "Bad. The Vrep is actually drying out."

"…Well, shit," Joshua murmured, eyes worried. I knew why. The Vrep was a giant river that ran through from Grado to Rausten, straight through Jehanna. It was the primary source of water for most of the country, alongside the numerous oases. "Though, dry periods aren't uncommon for the country. Tends to happen every fifty years or so for about… three years? Or maybe just a year."

"That's…" Gerik frowned. "That's not something most mercenaries would know."

"I've had to play bodyguard for nobles. You know how long they make you wait." He grinned as Gerik grimaced. "You got a bad one, didn't you?"

"Not me. Marisa, here, had one that made her wait for _fifteen_ hours." He growled something under his breath; Marisa just calmly drank the last of her wine, and poured herself some more. "Tethys, how many braids are you putting in the lass's hair?"

"As many as I can get away with," Tethys answered with a laugh. Since I was half-asleep, I figured she'd get away with quite a lot. "Aren't they cute?"

"Well, yeah? I guess. I'm not the one to ask these things about."

"Joshua?"

"Petal is my adorable little sister, and as such, is always cute," Joshua instantly answered. He winked at me when I playfully made a face. "But yes, the little braids are quite adorable."

"Thank you~!" Tethys laughed. She hummed something as she continued with tiny-tiny braids in my hair. "Hmm… I might do all these small ones and then do one large one…"

"Well, she's back to being distracted," Marisa noted. She had a slight smile, hinting it might've actually been her 'teasing'. "Joshua, you travel everywhere, yes? What do you know about Grado?"

"Besides the whole 'launched an invasion'?" Joshua asked. He took a gulp of his drink, frowning slightly. "What information do you want to know?"

"Well…"

"Tariffs suddenly spiked with Grado," Gerik commented. He watched Joshua closely, eyes sharp. "Rausten is always high. Renais is always low. Carcino works on a trade by trade basis. Grado is reasonable, except suddenly, it wasn't."

"Could be that they couldn't afford to keep it low," Joshua replied. He shrugged, setting his drink down on the floor. "Grado got hit by a couple of bad earthquakes. And I'm talking bad. Destroyed quite a few farms."

"Grado is known for earthquakes…"

"But not that bad, and not back to back as they were." Joshua frowned, sitting up straight and proper. He shifted his hat a little better on his head before continuing. "News of it was kept pretty quiet, though. Grado has its pride too. Like Jehanna, it likes to take care of its own problems and doesn't like letting anyone know its suffering."

"You mentioned farms?"

"I think they lost… a good twenty-five percent of all their harvest? Maybe more. And Grado needs every bit of farmland it has, given its large population. And the wyverns." Joshua shrugged. "They could've asked Renais for help, but Emperor Vigarde is known for being, well, silent. Stoic. Honestly, until I heard Renais was the first attacked, I thought Grado invaded because the other options were to ask for help or starve."

"Or sell themselves like Jehanna."

"Jehanna would assassinate every single one who tried. It depends too much on it. And, of course, it would be all off-the-ledger and completely legitimate." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "Right, reminded. Marisa, did you get your contract before or after Gerik?"

"It was presented prior to, but details weren't finalized until after Chief and Tethys left," Marisa answered. She tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"Good. When we get to Jehanna, we'll be able to prove that the contract you took was a Guild error, and a voided contract from the start," Joshua rattled off. Gerik frowned again, while Marisa looked a little curious. "You won't lose reputation, and your record will remain spotless."

"I don't care about such things."

"It'll look better for Gerik there, though."

"Never mind. Is it lengthy?"

"Nah, just a bunch of bullshit. You'll probably have to talk to Grant… no, Secretary Samuel would be better, and legally speaking, is required to look into these things."

"How the hell do you know that?" Gerik asked. He looked almost amused now, but his eyes were a bit sharp for it. "It's not a common thing."

"I had to jump through the BS once, and it was annoying enough to leave an impression," Joshua answered with ease. He smiled and shrugged. "You like jumping on all the bits of trivia I know."

"It's not something most mercenaries know. Captains do, but you're not one."

"No, but I've been one for ten years and I did a lot of the paperwork for my last group, before I left a two years ago."

"Which one was that?"

"Sunthorns."

"Oh, _that_ one. I know it." Gerik relaxed again, nodding. "Powerful group, did some personal jobs from Queen Ismaire."

"So I'm told. I never received the messages. I just had the best handwriting, so I did the paperwork."

"Mind if I ask why you left?"

"Just felt right, honestly. The captain was retiring, and no one really wanted to jostle for leadership. We lost a few to the crows as well, and a couple more left prior to it." Joshua took another sip of his drink. "I think the Caellach in Grado's army is an old friend from it, though. Matches the description."

"Ah, mercenary life. Gotta love it." He shrugged, and nodded. "Well, we're being far too serious for what was supposed to be a relaxing thing. Sooo…" Gerik turned to me, smiling. "I normally am not too superstitious. I pray to the gods, of course, because you don't screw with them. But other things, not so much. Except every single red-haired, red-eyed person I know has the most _insane_ lucky moments."

"You can choose to fluster him if you want," Tethys reassured instantly. She giggled and shifted to start braiding all my hair into one big one, like she'd threatened. "I, after all, told him how my most insane bit of luck was meeting him."

"…Not now, Tethys," Gerik mumbled. His face went a little red, and I thought I caught a slight wince from Marisa. "Anyway, if you'd rather not say anything, then just say. But there tends to be some funny ones."

"So, something amusing?" I asked. I frowned, glancing up at the ceiling before shrugging. "I suppose how I got my Brynhildr is funny, now." I laughed as Joshua immediately groaned and took a big gulp of his drink. "Or maybe just my current track record with Grado Generals?"

"From my understanding, isn't it…?" Joshua began, bringing his hand up to count them off. "'Hit one in the face with a burning log', 'got a second to pay you for a job', 'managed to get a wyvern from a third one', and 'humiliated and disabled the first one again after he nearly killed you'. Or am I missing one?"

"I suppose you could also mention how Ephraim and I were face to face with General Glen and we had a pleasant conversation, sort of, before he called the retreat?"

"Yeah, sure. Five interactions, and somehow not dead."

"Yay!"

"This is why I believe that bit of superstition," Gerik laughed. He turned to Joshua. "What about you?"

"Give me a moment," Joshua replied. "I'm trying to think of one that's not grisly."

"The first job tends to be a fun one."

"Not mine." Now, Joshua's eyes were dark. "You hear of the Etna revolt?"

"Yeah, it was a bloody revolution about ten years ago that…" Gerik trailed off and winced. Marisa tensed, and looked almost sympathetic. "Oh. That's your first job."

"Yep." He sighed, and smiled. I saw the pain in it. "Saw a lot of people die. Saw even less who cared." He knocked back his drink and set it down. Gerik refilled it without another word. "However, I did remember a funny one that I think can be attributed to my crazy luck."

"How did it start?"

"With an accidental wandering into the brothel district and someone trying to buy me." Joshua grinned as we all looked at him with anticipation. "So, that's how it started, and I'll note that I didn't take the offer, but managed to come out with far more money anyway." He set his mug down and leaned back in a pillow, stretching. "Alright, so… okay, the whole reason I was even wandering was…"

* * *

After Joshua's absolute insane story just outrageous enough to be true, Gerik talked about some antics his group got caught up in. I actually ended up falling asleep in the middle of one, using Tethys's lap as my pillow. They let me sleep until it was time to dinner, at which point I was cajoled awake and we joined the rest of the army for a rather delightful feast, considering we were all tense and anticipating more poisoning. But, thankfully, everything was fine, and afterwards, I secured permission from Seth to take Brynhildr out for a flight.

"Ah, this is just so peaceful…" I breathed, enjoying the brisk air. There was a thin layer of clouds, beautifully grey against the starry sky. "A dark moon, huh…" I studied the sky, noticing that there was no moon. The darkest night of the month. In Renais, one would burn a bunch of candles by the window, to ward off any spirits that might be wandering. "Without the light of the moon, spirits can get lost on their way to the Queen-Goddess of the Dead…" I wondered how many would get lost tonight.

Brynhildr crooned, drawing me out of my thoughts. She tossed her head back to look at me, and I smiled and leaned down to hug her neck. She crooned again, relaxing, and flew up even higher, until the giant palace-building we were staying in looked like a toy.

"Yeah, I shouldn't worry about it anymore. I'm sure She has lots of practice." I still sighed, though, and glanced towards the mountains where I'd left that one soldier. I saw no movement there now, so either they were asleep for the night or they had gotten down. "Maybe it was crueler to leave them there, helpless while their fellows died…" There just seemed no winning when it came to war. You just survived and prayed you got out with some semblance of yourself intact.

Brynhildr growled this time, likely annoyed I was wasting our 'relaxing flight time' for brooding. I laughed and patted her neck, lingering a bit. Natasha had confirmed that she'd pulled quite a few muscles today, mostly likely due to the initial dive-drop-pick up thing we'd done. Just as I'd sprained my wrist doing the same.

"We really need a better range option, sweetie." I sighed, leaning back in the saddle. I needed more training in javelins, or to pick up another weapon entirely. We simply couldn't keep doing things like this. Not just for ourselves, but for the others. Tactics like that, while effective, scared the living hell out of our friends. I couldn't keep hurting them because of my selfishness.

Brynhildr dropped suddenly, making me yelp, and I looked around, startled. But seeing nothing, and seeing the glint in Brynhildr's eyes, I realized that she'd just played a little trick on me, likely because I kept feeling sorry for myself. I laughed and smiled, nodding. Now wasn't the time for such thoughts. I could only move forward one step at a time, after all.

So, instead, I urged her to head back down, swooping in a wide arc around the courtyard. As we moved towards the back, I noticed I wasn't the only one outside. Below, I could see Eirika and Ephraim sparring with each other in a garden, taking advantage of the wide space for a bit of light exercise. Nearby, Tana and Prince Innes watching, and argued based on the glares. But Prince Innes ruffled her hair, and she smiled at him, suggesting it wasn't a serious argument.

I thought about landing, just to startle them, but feared interrupting. I was, after all, a bit of an outsider to their group. No matter how welcoming they were, I did feel odd inviting myself in. It was one thing to be dragged, and another thing to insert yourself. So, I hovered above, watching a bit, and then tugged Brynhildr up a bit, urging her to head to the stables again.

However, almost immediately, she stiffened, growling softly. Frowning, I looked around, and saw nothing. But Brynhildr began to actually tremble, still growling, and dread filled me. I still couldn't see anything. But Brynhildr did, and it frightened her. So, I nudged Brynhildr down, going ahead and landing nearby. To my surprise, Ephraim was already heading for me, while Eirika went to Tana and Prince Innes.

He smiled as I dismounted, but it faltered when he saw how serious I was. "Did you see something?" he asked, resting a hand on my shoulder. He looked to Brynhildr and his eyes widened. "Is she shaking?"

"She is," I confirmed. I stroked her face, hoping it would soothe her. "And I saw nothing, but she's acting like this…"

"Innes, let's strengthen the guard!" He turned to the others, and frowned. "I'll walk Emma and Brynhildr to the stables. Eirika, Tana…"

"I think we'll make arrangements to share rooms," Eirika called back. Tana and Prince Innes were already heading inside. "Emma, can we share?" She smiled in relief when I nodded. "Okay, I'll move your stuff to my room! It's the larger one!"

"Sounds good," I reassured. She nodded and ran off, so I turned my attention to Ephraim. "You don't need to walk me, you know."

"I'm aware you and Brynhildr can take care of yourselves, but I'd rather there be someone to guard you while you try to calm her," Ephraim replied softly. He smiled slightly. "That way you can focus on that."

"That… okay." I smiled back, touched he'd thought of that. And exasperated. "Busybody."

"Too many unexpected things have been going on. I'm actually surprised we might have warning, for once." He hesitated before resting his hand on Brynhildr. It was telling that she didn't even pretend to be annoyed. "Yeah, she's really worried. Let's get her settled in."

It was a bit awkward, walking around the outside to get Brynhildr into the stables. I half-wanted to fly, but I didn't want to be in the air at the moment, just in case. But, eventually, Ephraim and I got her settled in her stall, a modified horse one to give her some room, and I draped a blanket over her, whispering reassurances.

"Okay, I think she's finally calm enough for me to leave," I murmured after what felt like a long time. I sat back on my heels, looking at her worriedly before looking to the stall door. Ephraim had waited patiently just outside the whole time. "Thanks."

"It's fine," he reassured. He peered inside worriedly. "You sure she's alright?"

"No, but I think this is as close as we're getting." I sighed, and stroked Brynhildr's face. She leaned into me, and licked my temple. "I'm hoping this is just… I don't even know."

"Any ideas?"

"Not really. I've never seen her react like this before." I shifted the blanket a little better over her wings. They were tucked tight against her sides. "I don't know if she's reacting to something on the wind, something she saw that I didn't, or what." I looked over at him. "So, who are you sharing a room with?"

"Kyle, likely. Him or Seth. Forde will want to share with Franz, after all."

"Sounds good…" I sighed, scratching Brynhildr behind the eye-ridge. She crooned and settled a bit more onto the hay. She wasn't trembling anymore, but she was still so tense… "I hope this is a false alarm."

"Same. I'd rather laugh at our paranoia." He offered his hand to help me up, and I took it. "I'll take you to Eirika's room."

"Thank you."

He continued holding my hand until we were back in the castle proper before letting go and simply walking by my side in silence. In the distance, we heard various shouts and racing footsteps, hinting that the guards were being coordinated. Knowing Prince Innes, I had little doubts it would be done quickly and efficiently. I just worried about someone breaking through anyway.

"You know; it occurs to me that we might be dealing with assassins," I murmured after a while, mostly just to say something. He glanced at me curiously. "Then again, we haven't encountered any yet."

"That's true, which is surprising, considering everything," he replied. He frowned thoughtfully. "The closest would be the ambush. Or… ah…"

"Orson?"

"…Yes…" He looked down. "Sorry."

"Ephraim, it's not something I can run away from. It happened. He went mad." I shrugged, and tried to ignore the pain the thought brought. "No amount of screaming or running is going to change that."

"But still…" He hesitated and shook his head. "I'm sorry. You're right. I just feel guilty that I didn't do more and, worse, that I took him from the people who might've caught him. No, worse, I took him to Grado, likely giving them the opening."

"Yeah, I suppose that could be all your fault." I reached up and batted him on the shoulder. "There. Even."

"Uh…" He gave me a weird look. "That's…"

"Even." I smiled back. I knew it was stiff, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Ephraim, regardless of everything, Orson was still the one who betrayed you. He betrayed you and Eirika, and King Fado. He betrayed Renais and his fellow knights. He betrayed Monica and me. That's all his fault. He made his choice. So, if I'm to be mad at _anyone_ besides him, it would be the people who tempted him."

"But…"

"And, to be blunt, as is my normal, you have _plenty_ to be guilty about without adding that." My smile grew and he actually laughed, nodding to concede the point. "I do appreciate you feel bad. But I'd rather you save that energy for fixing everything else we have to fix."

"Right…" He nodded, and gave me a very warm smile. "Sorry. What were we talking about before?"

"I believe it was assassins?"

"Oh, right, and how we haven't really dealt with any." He frowned as the thought came back. "I wonder if King Hayden…"

"I'm sure there are lots of guards now, considering the recent attack."

"True. I just hope Myrrh stays safe, since she's alone in the castle." He paused and then groaned, facepalming. "Oh, right, damn it. Myrrh wanted me to give you something, but it's in my room. I'll give it to you in the morning."

"Oh, sure." I, however, was confused. "Why… would she want to give me anything?"

"She likes you. You can tell by the fact that she bothered trying to talk to you. She's _horribly_ shy." He shrugged. "She tried to give it to you herself, but you were always around people."

"Why does she like me?"

"Is it so hard to believe you're incredibly likable?"

"With someone I've only interacted with once, and that once was very brief, yes!"

"Well, she did mention you reminded her of someone." He crossed his arms and glanced at the ceiling, as if the memory was etched there. "Oh, I remember. She said you reminded her of 'Evelyn'."

"Evelyn?" I frowned, trying to think of why that name seemed familiar. I remembered after a moment. "Oh, huh, that's the name of Renais's first queen, right? That's a coincidence."

"Yes, Queen Evelyn the Valiant. She married King Urien the Magnificent during the war with the Demon King. I think she was also the little sister of Jehanna's first king, King Kasimir." He laughed suddenly, but it was strangely sad. Like he had to laugh to keep from bursting into tears. "Before all of this, I was having to read that chapter for lessons. I was so bored and wanted something exciting, or something to get me out of a test."

"Well, you got your wish."

"Yeah, and now I wish I'd been more grateful." He smiled bitterly before nodding. "There's Eirika's room."

"Ah, okay, thank you." I paused at the door and looked to him. "Um… thanks."

"For escorting you?" He looked a bit confused. "It was only natural."

"No, for taking me seriously, even when I was hesitant." I smiled warmly at him and, after a moment, he smiled back. "I appreciate that."

"Well, I'm not sure that's something to thank me for." He glanced to the side, face looking a little pink. "You're just… you. And I trust you."

"Thank you." I laughed a bit. "And, so long as it doesn't involve you being reckless, I suppose I trust you too."

"That feels like a backhanded compliment." Still, his smile grew. "Good night."

"Night." I waited for him to leave before opening the door and stepping inside. "Eirika, I'm here."

"Ah, hey!" Eirika greeted, smiling warmly as she spun to face me. She was by the window, and it looked like she'd been peeking outside. "We got the word out, so everyone's making their arrangements."

"Sounds good," I murmured. I glanced around the room, though, and I noticed just how… open it was. There was a lot of space, which meant plenty of areas where an attacker could sneak in. Neither Eirika nor I were particularly light sleepers, though anxiety might make us ones tonight. "Hey, Eirika?"

"Yeah?"

"Two ideas. One, we move to a smaller room to minimize the amount of room. Two, we see if we can room with a few others." I smiled wryly at her. "What do you think?"

"I was just thinking that maybe we should've gone to your room instead, but it's still pretty large." She smiled back, relieved that I'd been worried about the same things. "It was a bit smaller, though. Who would you want to room with?"

"Natasha or Tethys would be my suggestions, personally…" I heard footsteps and leaned out, worried. But I smiled when I realized it was actually Tethys. "Hey, good timing. Do you mind if Eirika and I room with you?"

"I was just coming to suggest that, actually, little wing," she laughed. She gave me a hug, and smiled at Eirika. "Marisa and I were thinking of just hanging out in that room we have filled with pillows and blankets anyway. I thought I'd offer the room to any other girls, and we'd have a little slumber party thing."

"That sounds lovely!" Eirika laughed. But the cheer faded quickly as her eyes widened. She thought of the potential problem with so many people. We were dealing with a no-completely-safe scenario. "Oh, but if there's so many…"

"There's a saying in Jehanna. 'Where do you hide a prized sword? Amidst other swords, of course.' Or, in this case, 'where do you hide a lovely lass? Amidst other lasses, of course.'" Tethys smiled gently and reassuringly. "And I've got the room set up like the sleeping area at the Guild. That means it's a mess of pillows and blankets. We won't be set up in organized lines or anything."

"Oh, so…"

"You'll be far safer in a group, and we'll also be safe with so many people." She walked over and stroked Eirika's hair before hugging her. "So?"

"Then I gladly accept." Eirika smiled brightly and I grinned. "Emma, let's gather our things,"

We did so easily, and I thought to close the curtains in the room to better hide what we were doing. As I pulled it, though, I thought I caught the shadow of a wing in the distance. A wyvern's wing.

I had a very bad feeling. I hoped it was just paranoia.

* * *

Next Chapter – Interlude, Carcino


	17. Interlude - Carcino

Interlude – Carcino

* * *

 _Carcino's civil war almost cost Prince Innes his life. Thankfully, though, we'd been heading south to meet him, so all's well that ends well! Except Brynhildr started freaking out over something. So now, we're all on high alert, but trying not to be._

 _I hope we're just being paranoid. I really hope we are._

* * *

Bright laughter echoed off the walls of the room, an unexpected sound given how uneasy everything had been earlier. But Tethys was determined to make us all have a lovely little slumber party thing, and so, before long, we were all split up and happily gossiping. Or, in this case, relaxing after a pillow fight. I'd tried to apologize to Vanessa for being reckless, and she'd promptly thrown a pillow at me.

"Ah, this is surprisingly fun," I murmured, scooting off to the corner. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, actually. The last time I'd hung out with so many people like this, with pillow fights and other silly things, was two years ago before Mary and Jacob and everyone had died. "I'm glad…" I was glad that everyone else was having so much fun.

Eirika wasn't too far away, keeping close, but she was happily chatting with Tana over something while Tethys brushed and braided her hair. Tana, hilariously, kept trying to drag Marisa into the conversation, and whenever Marisa almost escaped, Tethys commented something to make Marisa stammer and the rest laugh.

Not far from them, Vanessa and Lute were talking about something, though it did seem more like Lute teasing Vanessa and Vanessa scolding her like an older sister. Meanwhile, Neimi and Amelia were happily talking about michew berry pies and some pets they had. For a second, I panicked, because I realized that I couldn't find Natasha. However, she soon appeared again, carrying two mugs. It took a second to remember that we had a tea making area, powered by Lute's fire magic, set up in the corner.

"I thought you might need this," she murmured, sitting down next to me. She handed me one of the mugs and I blew on it to cool it down faster. "You look a little frazzled."

"It's been a while since I've been to a party like this," I replied softly. "I mean; I guess you could say that our army's nightly singing and story-telling counts, but…"

"This just feels different. It feels like something you'd do with friends, growing up without a care." She smiled and I smiled back, relieved. She did understand. There wasn't quite enough 'difference' from those painful memories to make it comforting. "I suppose it doesn't help that we're all together because of a potential threat."

"Yeah…" I stiffened, remembering how uneasy Brynhildr had been. Part of me wished I was with her, but I knew if I was, I'd just be worrying about Eirika and Natasha and everyone here. I couldn't win in this sort of situation; I couldn't exactly bring Brynhildr inside. "I've also had my hair brushed and braided so many times today."

"True." She laughed, and tugged the lock of hair that fell by my face. The rest was done up in some fancy braid Tethys insisted on; she was putting a similar design in Eirika's. "It does look nice, though."

"I'm sure it does, but I'm a very simple girl." The last time I had my hair done up so fancily… well, I'd never had braids this intricate, since they more resembled something you'd find in a tapestry pattern or something. But for harvest festivals and the like, Monica would braid my hair a little fancier than normal, something like a herringbone braid. So, the last time my hair was braided fancily… was when Monica was still alive. When Orson wasn't mad. When I hadn't gone to war. "…I'm tired."

"I know." She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and let me lean into her, rubbing my arm a bit as I relaxed. "You're not suited for fighting, same as me."

"I hate destroying people's worlds." I hated killing. I was just so, so tired. But I had to keep going, because my only other option was just waiting and fretting. "I'll be much happier when we're done fighting."

"I imagine quite a few will." She rested her cheek against my head as she set her mug down. I still held onto mine, but at the moment, I decided the warmth was more comforting. "Still, not all bad, right?"

"Is that something a healer should say?"

"A healer's job is to reassure people." She laughed softly, and it was nearly drowned out by the loud laughter of the others. I looked to see that the groups had mingled a bit, mostly because Tana was now braiding Marisa's hair with Neimi's help, while Amelia and Vanessa were braiding Lute's pigtails. Eirika, still trapped by Tethys's braiding, just laughed and laughed, looking happier than she'd been in weeks. "This war is horrible, but at the least, it has brought people together."

"I suppose." I had to smile, though, because she was right. And if I had any doubts… well, Eirika caught my eye and gave me the biggest grin, along with a 'oh dear gods, no wonder you escaped' look. I laughed and winked at her, and her grin grew. "Yeah, you're right." A thought occurred to me, though, and I gave Natasha a sly little smirk. "Soooo, speaking of people getting together…"

"Oh, goodness…" Her face immediately went red, and I almost burst into laughter. I sipped my tea instead, treated to a lovely taste of cinnamon, to muffle it. "That's… um…"

"It's later!" Snickering, I caught Eirika's eye again and she gave me a confused look. My smirk widened and I tugged my hair before miming wearing a hat. She looked confused for a moment longer before her eyes lit up with realization. She covered her mouth to muffle her own laughter and deftly began diverting attention to her, and away from Natasha and me. "So? Eirika's making sure it's just us."

"You're conspiring!" She sighed mournfully, but did smile. Even if her face remained a bright red. "Well, let's see…" Her face became even redder. I calmly sipped my tea, waiting for her. "We've almost kissed?" She yelped when I choked on my tea on that and started coughing. "Oh, Emma, are you okay?" She patted me on the back as I struggled to not accidentally spit out all my tea. "Emma?"

"Fine, fine!" I reassured, voice a bit high. I coughed a bit more, grimacing at I felt a burning up my sinuses, and I set my mug on the floor. "Fine, just… ah…" I reached up to wipe my eyes and waved away the concerned looked from the other girls. "What was that?"

"Well…" Natassha continued rubbing my back, mostly to let the others get back to their distractions. Only when they looked perfectly amused and not paying attention did she continue. "We've… almost kissed. A couple of times, actually."

"Just almost?" I felt a little giddy, though some disappointment did creep in when she nodded. "So, confessions? How did…?" I trailed off as she shook her head. "Oh, okay, it's almost kisses, but nothing official yet. Got it." I frowned, glancing up at the ceiling as I tried to think if I'd accidentally interrupted anything. I didn't think so. "Were there interruptions?"

"Mmm… no, actually." Natasha's expression grew thoughtful and a little sad. "I would've let him. I actually… the second time was my fault."

"So…?"

"He's the one who pulled away both times." She looked down and picked up her own mug to slowly drink her tea. "He got this conflicted, sad look on his face as well."

"I wonder… if it's because he's a mercenary." I thought of Mom, and how she'd once mentioned it had been hard for her to get close to people. Jehannans knew, better than anyone, that death came for everyone. "Or maybe…" I frowned a bit, thinking, and I took stock of how Natasha still dressed as a cleric of Grado, with the long white dress and knee-length veil. It made her stand out, especially since most girls in the army wore mini-skirts, but that was the point. Healers needed to be easy to find. "Maybe he's worried."

"About?"

"You're a healer. You serve the people. And… actually, do Grado clerics take vows?"

"Vows?" She looked confused for a moment before coloring again. "Oh, vows of chastity. No, you're not required. Some do. I didn't. I didn't see the point. I'd never met anyone I wanted to…"

"And then came Joshua."

"And then came Joshua." She smiled slightly, shyly, her face turning a very pretty pink. "I had little crushes in the past, but…"

"So, it sounds like to me that you two just need to sit down and have a good long talk, yeah?" I leaned into her side, laughing, and her smile grew. "Do you need me to help? I can totally talk Brynhildr into helping too."

"We'll see. I might use you as a convenient excuse. You get into trouble enough, and he's protective of you."

"He's my big brother~!" I grinned, more or less cheerful. I did feel a bit of pain and guilt over it. Orson had been my big brother, and it felt like I was replacing him. Worse, replacing him so quickly. At the same time, though, Joshua really was like my big brother, especially with everything going weird. "But yeah, I don't mind. Being used as an excuse, I mean. I do mind causing so much trouble. I need to work on that."

"What you _need_ is a better ranged option." She frowned. "Why is it, again, that you don't use javelins?"

"I'm bad at throwing, basically." I shrugged. "I can learn. I probably should. It was just lower on the priority for fixing."

"Maybe a bow instead?"

"A bow?" I frowned. That... seemed to have come from nowhere. "On a flier?"

"Well, it's just a thought." Natasha smiled slightly and looked at the group. They were still doing braids, but now had switched to doing Neimi's and Amelia's, adapting for the shorter hair. "Neimi?"

"Yes?" Neimi called. It took her a bit of shifting before she could face us, not helped by how the others also moved to join in on the conversation. "What is it?"

"You mentioned that Prince Innes is going to help you learn how to fight while mounted, yes?" Natasha asked. I frowned since… I hadn't known that at all. "Or was that just something you were going to ask?"

"No, he agreed. He told me he wouldn't coddle, nor would he teach me _how_ to ride. General Seth will help me with riding, though." Neimi smiled, and giggled as Tana gave her a worried look. "I'll be fine. He's just a little awkward with his feelings, like Colm!"

"That's… actually a pretty good comparison," Eirika murmured. She laughed as Tana became skeptical. "Relax, Tana. If you're worried, then just watch the lessons."

"Regardless…" Natasha began again, seizing attention. "Do you think he could help Emma with bows?"

"Emma?" Neimi repeated. Everyone turned towards me, but I threw up my hands in surrender. I had no idea what was going on either. "Mmm… I don't see why not. Emma's stronger than me, so I don't think she'll have too much difficulty drawing back a bow. She'll have to do some exercises to strengthen the correct muscles, though. Especially for the back."

"So, am I the only one who sees a potential issue with shooting arrows from a flying creature?" I asked dryly. I frowned, trying and failing to picture aiming an arrow around Brynhildr's wings. "What if I hit Brynhildr's wings?"

"It _is_ an interesting thought, though," Eirika mused. She frowned, almost looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, until Tethys nudged her head back forward. She was almost done with the braid. "Innes would probably like it just for the potential tactical advantages." She glanced at me. "Might we at least try?"

"That's…" I sighed, not quite feeling 'settled' on the matter. But both Natasha and Eirika had asked, and Neimi looked a little excited by the thought. "Fine, we'll try it. But if Brynhildr says 'no', it's not going to happen. She only tolerates my orders, after all."

"Of course." Eirika beamed, and I softened slightly. "But that's for another time! Marisa was telling us a story about the strangest job she ever had."

"That'll be hilarious. Mom had a few stories herself." Laughing, I tugged Natasha back into the group and settled in next to Eirika. I rested my head against her shoulder, and, after Tethys tied off her braid at last, she leaned her cheek against my head, both of us laughing at Marisa's story, mostly because of how she described the most absurd things in a calm tone. All of us were laughing.

I really just hoped I was being paranoid. I'd much prefer this happy night to not have a killer punch line.

* * *

I stirred awake suddenly, blinking slowly. I laid still for a while, trying to think of why I'd be awake, and debated going back to sleep. Instead, though, I pushed myself up slightly, looking around. Hunting for whatever might've startled me awake. I found nothing, though, and almost settled back down. Then Eirika shifted in her sleep, pushed some of the covers off her hair, so I fixed that instead.

When we'd all decided to sleep, shortly after Vanessa had finished her patrol for the night, I'd brought up how unique all the hair colors were. Out of the ten girls here, there were only four who shared a hair color: Tethys and me, Natasha and Amelia. So, it was decided that we'd do our best to just burrow under the covers, hiding our hair as much as possible. Marisa hadn't been too keen on it, but Tethys managed to convince her, and so everyone had gone to sleep. Mostly. Eirika and I ended up staying awake, because she was worried about bringing danger to everyone, and I wasn't about to let her stay awake alone. A few stories later, though, and we'd both passed out, just too tired from the battle.

Which made me all the more curious as to why I'd woken up. My head was still cloudy and fuzzy from a need to sleep. I wondered if it was a nightmare, but honestly, I'd been too exhausted to even dream anymore. We had our victories, but it felt like we were just sliding into an abyss, barely slowing anything down. Renais was still fallen. Frelia might not have fallen, but its Sacred Stone was destroyed. Plus, there was that overwhelming feeling that…

I shook my head, reminding myself that I was exhausted, far too exhausted to try and make sense of anything. I settled myself down and prepared to just go back to sleep. But then a small bit of movement, right out of the corner of my eye, caught my attention. I frowned, and shifted, pulling the blankets over my head to make it less obvious that I was looking for… whatever it was. There was no movement for a long while, though, so I almost laughed, thinking myself paranoid.

Then I saw something move again in the corner. I frowned, trying to figure out what the hell it was, before realizing why it was so hard to pick out the shape. Everything was in shadows, and this person was wearing clothes of differing shades to look 'off'. Dark blue, hooded cloak. Dulled, grey armor with different dark grays for the upper and lower parts. Honestly, if they hadn't shifted and revealed a stark-black knife, I might've never figured it out.

Shakily, I reached under the covers and tapped Eirika's shoulder. Once, twice. On the third, she stirred, whimpering a little as she opened her eyes. She gave me a bleary little glare, but all trace of sleepiness disappeared when she saw how serious I was. She lifted herself up slightly, just slightly, and then dropped back down. The person was walking closer, shadowed face looking over everyone, but coming towards us. Probably because I'd been to wake up and move, actually.

Eirika and I stared at each other for a brief moment, quickly trying to figure out what to do. Then, simultaneously, we both grabbed our pillows and threw them as hard as we could at the person. Eirika's went wide; mine got them in the chest. But it didn't matter, because both of us got to our feet immediately and tackled whoever the hell this was to the ground. They yelped and struggled, trying to get us off. I focused on getting the dagger I'd seen while Eirika focused on pinning them, mostly to make sure they couldn't get that damn dagger.

This was about the time that the others jolted awake, which was good, because based on sounds and a quick look behind, few more were climbing in from a window in the corner. Of course, in the time it took me to realize that, Marisa had kicked most of them out of that same window. When I got the knife away from the would-be-assassin, I absently handed it to her and she drove it the person's throat before casually pushing Eirika off the bleeding body, opening another window, and tossing the body out.

"I'm never listening to you again, Tethys," she muttered as she shut the window again. She marched over and checked the other window, grimacing. I was just impressed I hadn't even seen her get up. "This one is broken. They must've set that up prior to us moving in here."

"Now, why would you say that, dear?" Tethys asked. "Not the window thing. The part about me." She very casually helped some of the others up and kicked some pillows and blankets over the blood. "Oh, wait, did you get tangled in your blankets again?"

"Quiet." Marisa glowered, but a slight blush hinted that Tethys was correct. Which likely explained why Eirika and I reacted before her, actually. "They rigged the window."

"Well, we need to get going, I suppose." Tethys sighed, shaking her head. "So rude. Don't they know that girls need their beauty sleep?"

"Tethys, you're pretty enough," Vanessa pointed out. She went to the side and began passing out weapons. Poor Amelia still looked half-asleep and yawned when she took her lance. "I don't think we have time to get full armor on." A series of loud crashes outside just made her sigh. "Yep, definitely. Where is everyone going?"

"We should try to meet in the main hall or something," Eirika suggested. She picked up her rapier and passed me my lance. I also picked up my gauntlets, smiling slightly at how ridiculous they looked with the nightgown. All of us were in nightclothes, after all. "It's an easy place to find, and the open space means more room to maneuver, now that we're awake."

"Quite true." Vanessa stood, eyes hard and expression perfectly calm. "So…" A loud _shriek_ cut her off and almost everyone looked around oddly. "The hell was that?"

I, however, closed my eyes, because I knew that shriek. I knew it very well. I weaponized it, after all. "That would be Brynhildr, and I'm assuming it means that someone is in the stables," I replied. I opened my eyes again and smiled wryly. "So, I shall actually go check on her, and maybe get an aerial patrol up to see if there's any climbing up the walls or some other nonsense."

"I'll go with you!" Tana volunteered. She smiled brightly as the rest kind of looked like they wanted me to not go, and were possibly willing to pin me to make sure of it. "Here, let's go!" However, Tana snagged my arm before anyone could protest or act on those imaginary threats and dragged me out before anyone could stop us. "Vanessa's going to be mad at me later."

"I think the whole room is going to be." I barely managed to keep up with her, and actually had to jog a bit. "I suppose they don't like the idea of me going off on my own, since I have set such a good precedence."

"That's why I'm coming with you!" She tossed her head back to smile at me. "Besides, I'm worried too. Those stalls don't really give the mounts much room to maneuver."

"Brynhildr's does. I modified it." I smiled back, laughing a little. "You're incredibly… cheerful?"

"Someone should keep a smile on their face during all of this. Might as well be me." She shrugged, unbothered. "It helps that waking up to assassins doesn't quite feel real."

"That's not healthy."

"Neither is fighting a war?"

"Okay, that's a good point." Still, I had a feeling I'd direct Natasha over to check in on her. Or maybe Moulder. One of the two.

We fell silent as we continued running through the halls. I relied on her to navigate the place, because it was far too large of a building. I wondered how many people normally lived here to make the space 'worthwhile' to have. Then I wondered if the builders were compensating for something. But that didn't matter because we came across the stables, which were far bloodier than before. Though, that was mostly due to Brynhildr snapping would-be-assassins in her mouth and shaking them relentlessly until they went perfectly limp.

"Brynhildr!" I called, stepping inside. The stables were a mess of blood, splintered wood, and scattered bits of hay. But it looked like none of the mounts had taken any damage. If anything, they looked annoyed that they didn't get to fight. "Hey, Brynhildr!" Brynhildr looked up and then, like a puppy who wasn't sure if it did something bad, dropped the corpse she'd been shaking and pushed it a bit away. "Oh, damn it, Brynhildr, I just cleaned your teeth." I smiled, though, and I hugged her neck. She shook her head briefly and, amusing, actually wiped her mouth on her victim's bloody clothes before nuzzling me. She still got blood on me, though, but I couldn't help but laugh. It was morbid, but I couldn't help it.

"Looks like everyone is okay," Tana said. She was nuzzling her own pegasus, giggling. I had a feeling she'd volunteered to come with me to get comfort. "So, aerial patrol?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." I paused, realizing something. "Oh, hell, we're wearing nightgowns."

"And neither of us have our boots or tights to guard against chafing." She made a face. "Well, let's just do this quickly before we chafe."

"Maybe we should invest in sleeping pants like the boys."

"That too. Outside, though?"

"Yes."

Both of us got Brynhildr and Achaeus saddled up in record time and we took off quickly, climbing high into the sky. We both started circling the area, with me focusing more on the western side, while she took the east. It was a bit difficult to see, due to the lack of moonlight, so I chose to focus solely on movement. My eyes narrowed as I caught sight of broken windows, and the sight of people falling out. Their clothing marked them as assassins, thankfully, and though some part of me wanted to save them, the rest of me checked the urge.

I did wonder about information, but shook my head. Assassins… they tended to be Jehannan mercenary. The few that weren't were former thieves who chose to steal lives as well as items. They were all people who wouldn't talk if questioned. At least, that's what I thought, and if I was wrong… well, it would involve people far more skilled than me.

So, instead, I continued with my patrol, paying more attention to the mountains and castle grounds. I didn't see anything, though, and I was about to relax, feeling like the worst had already happened. But then Brynhildr tensed and jerked her head down. I leaned out over the side, frowning, and froze when I thought I caught sight of blood, dried blood splashed all the way up some mountain rocks. I thought I saw bodies as well, but I didn't feel up to examining. Not yet, at least.

Making mental notes of where the area actually was, I tugged Brynhildr back to our patrol, and then landed by the stables. Tana was already there, giving Achaeus a quick brush down. I dismounted, but left Brynhildr's saddle on, instead focusing on trying to calm her. From there, Tana and I dashed back inside, tense and whirling at each noise. But it turned out to be fine. While we were checking outside, the others inside had dealt with all the assassins and gathered everyone in the main hall to do a head count. Tana went to help coordinate people, tending to the wounded and cleaning things up. I went directly to where Prince Innes, Eirika, and Ephraim were conversing in the corner, away from the chaos.

"So, minor reassurance, there's none outside," I informed them lightly, smiling wryly as I joined them. Ephraim and Eirika were bloody; Prince Innes just looked plain annoyed. "It looks like things worked out well within?"

"Of course," Prince Innes scoffed. He now looked even more annoyed. "Was there any doubt?"

"Well, yes. You're only human, Prince Innes. It won't kill you to act it." I shrugged and smiled at Ephraim and Eirika. Prince Innes simply scowled. "Regardless, outside is clear."

"That's good to hear, Emma," Ephraim replied. He smiled back softly. "We were just wondering if this was merely a first wave or not."

"Though, I do wish you two had waited for someone else," Eirika added with a little scowl. It instantly softened for a smile, though. "Well, clearly, you're both alright, so we'll let it slide."

"Though it does bring us to our next question." Ephraim crossed his arms. "Seth already made his feelings clear before leading a patrol inside the walls. He wants us to return."

"Yet, we cannot," Prince Innes instantly replied with hard eyes. "We must reach the other nations. If we don't, they'll fall, devoured by Grado, and their people will suffer."

"And, at this point, the road to Rausten lies through Carcino and Jehanna," Eirika murmured. She shook her head. "I'm… we have to keep going, but I worry. Pressing on invites more attacks. I'm not sure we have the supplies for that, even with Lord Klimt's aid."

"Perhaps another path then." Prince Innes glance at me. "In the morning, can you scout out other paths?"

"I can try, sure," I answered, frowning slightly. I shifted my weight on my feet, starting to feel the exhaustion creep back in. My feet hurt. "You could probably ask Joshua or Gerik if they know of one. Mercenaries travel a lot, and see a lot."

"A fair point. So-"

"Hey, hey!" A strangely bright-eyed for the hour, far too chipper to be one of ours, boy suddenly appeared, wearing light blue robes. I didn't recognize him at all, but his hair and eyes marked him as Jehannan. "I know a way that leads over the mountains straight to Jehanna!" he happily told us. The rest of us exchanged 'what the hell' looks. "Want me to guide you?"

"Um..." Ephraim began. He looked at the three of us, but all of us were just as confused. "Okay, who the hell are-?"

"Ewan!" Then Tethys appeared, snagging them little boy by the collar and tugging him sharply towards her. Despite him being almost the same height, he seemed to fall into himself, sulking. "You shouldn't interrupt people when they're talking!" she scolded, tugging his. He made a face, but she ignored him to smiled at us. "I apologize for my little brother." She gave him an annoyed look. "My little brother who should be nowhere near here."

"Did Ewan follow us again?" Gerik asked, coming over. He grinned and ruffled Ewan's hair. "Little scamp."

"Don't. Encourage. Him." She glared up at Gerik and he backed away, hands up. "Honestly, this is why he's spoiled."

"He's a sweet kid!"

"He is, but-"

"Is this you two pretending to argue so that you have an excuse to kiss and make out?" the boy, Ewan, drawled. He squeaked when Tethys turned her glare on him. "I'm sorry, sister! I love you?"

"Ah, can I intervene?" Eirika gently interrupted. Unlike the rest of us, she regained her perfect poison. I remained confused, Ephraim looked amused, and Prince Innes looked annoyed. "This path. Can you explain it to us?"

"Me?" Ewan pointed to himself and smiled when she nodded. "Yep! Gerik and Tethys and Marisa know the way from Caer Pelyn, but not from this side. But I do, since my teacher lives there and I had to do errands with him."

"Your teacher?" Prince Innes asked. His eyes narrowed and, unlike Eirika, Ephraim, and I… he didn't look surprised by the location name. "What's his name?"

"Saleh!" Ewan chirped. He smiled brightly, while Gerik and Tethys exchanged worried looks. "He's the best! Quiet, though."

"Saleh… that name has shown up in a number of my reports lately." Prince Innes frowned thoughtfully, ignoring how Gerik and Tethys shot _him_ worried looks. "A powerful wielder of magic who has been fighting bandits and monsters since the war began. The reports also mentioned a 'Caer Pelyn', though I could not find it on a map."

"So, that sounds like he's trustworthy," Eirika noted with a kind smile. "I mean; he's clearly nice enough to kill bandits, at least."

"Or pragmatic enough," Prince Innes countered. Eirika merely sighed and nodded, accepting the point. "Still, the reports do hint that you're right and he's trustworthy."

"I've also met him, briefly," I murmured. I glanced at Tethys, wondering if this was okay, and, after a moment, she nodded. Her slight smile told me she was thankful. "In Serafew. He gave us some supplies." I remembered something else, and smiled. "He's also a friend of Myrrh's." And if we found him, we could let him know that Myrrh was safe. Myrrh had been happy to hear about Saleh, after all, so it stood to reason he'd be as relieved.

"Well, that's definitely a glowing recommendation of how trustworthy he is," Ephraim commented. He smiled softly, barely hiding how he still looked ready to laugh at all of us. "Myrrh is shy, and sees people clearly. There are few she likes."

"So, her word is very trustworthy?" Eirika asked. She frowned a little as Ephraim gave her a look. "I don't mean to doubt you, brother, but I've barely spoken two words with her, and Innes has even less interactions. So, if you're certain..."

"She adores Emma, by the way."

"Never mind, she's wonderful." Eirika grinned and actually laughed when she noticed my face had heated up. "I'm sorry, Emma. I couldn't help but tease a little!"

"Looks like fun." Ephraim also grinned, but he brought up his hands in surrender when I glowered. "But I won't. It's only fun if the other person accepts the teasing. Regardless, though, I do trust Myrrh and her judgement. When combined with all the other bits of information..." He looked to Ewan and reached out to ruffle his hair. Ewan squeaked, but laughed, clearly enjoying the attention. "So, shall we try this path of yours then?"

"Sure, I can lead you!" Ewan instantly replied with a giant grin of his own. Tethys facepalmed, looking exasperated, while Gerik just laughed. "Better keep up, though! I'm fast!"

"I look forward to your speed, then," Ephraim retorted. Ewan's grin only widened. "For now, though, I think you're in for a rightfully-deserved-scolding from your sister."

"Aw…"

Tethys snagged Ewan again and dragged him off then, while Gerik followed, snagging Prince Innes by the shoulder to talk quietly about something. Eirika headed over to Tana, likely to help, and Ephraim began walking away, likely to do something equally important. But I remembered the slaughter outside, and so I snagged his arm to stop him. He paused and turned to face me, expression curious. But he waited for me to gather my thoughts, and I was grateful for that.

"I think the assassins might be happenstance," I whispered at last. He stiffened, but remained quiet, letting me finish. I glanced at the others in the crowd and stepped a little closer to lessen the chances of being overheard. "Brynhildr was still very tense when I left her, and outside, on the mountains…"

"Did you see something?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet. He rested his free hand on mine, squeezing slightly to reassure me when I nodded. "What was it?"

"I found a lot of blood, and I didn't go much closer. I didn't think it would be wise, alone." I hesitated before deciding to go for it. "I do want to investigate, though. Will you come with me?"

"Of course." He tightened his grip on my hand. "I'll meet you in the stable."

"Tell Eirika where we're going."

"I will."

"Then I'll get Brynhildr settled." And pray that this wasn't yet another trap. "Try to hurry?"

"I'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Oh, holy shit." Ephraim's words were basically the perfect summary to the carnage we found in the mountains. I almost wished I hadn't ever seen it, much less returned to it. It was far, _far_ worse than it had looked from the air. Brynhildr actually couldn't land in the area proper because of all the gore and had to perch on the side precariously while Ephraim and I dismounted and awkwardly climbed down.

I almost wished we hadn't. There weren't that many bodies strewn about, thankfully, but there was blood everywhere. Cold and coagulated, it squished between my toes and made me shudder. I should've gotten a pair of shoes, but no, I'd chosen to go straight to Brynhildr to calm her down for the ride.

"Well, this is… uh…" Ephraim tried to say. He held up the torch Eirika insisted we bring, and I winced as the flickering light glinted off the pooled blood and cast the bodies further into shadow. It didn't help that I expected them to start moving. I keenly remembered those revenants, after all. "You know; when you said a lot of blood… well, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but somehow, this wasn't it."

"Yeah, sorry," I murmured, mostly to say something. I was tempted to climb back up onto Brynhildr, truthfully. This was just creepy, and I worried that the soldier I'd 'spared' might've been among the bodies. Though, I did think this was a different area. I hoped. "Maybe this should've waited until morning."

"No, I'm glad we came here now. In the morning, animals might've taken away any information we might fine."

"I think the local animals have more sense than us and fled the chaos." That was a thing in common with all the battles. The wildlife fled, and didn't return. At least, not before we'd left the area. "Do you really think we can find anything?"

"Won't know unless we try."

"That's startling, coming from you."

"Ouch, that hurt." He gave me a wry smile, and I couldn't decide if I felt more annoyed or guilty at the sight. "Can you hold the torch for me?"

"Sure." I took it from him and held it high above my head to try and get as much light over the area as possible. Sadly, more light only seemed to make things creepier, but there was nothing I could do about that. Sadly.

Silence fell as Ephraim carefully checked over the remains of each of the bodies. A cold wind blew, and I shivered, wishing I'd thought to grab a cloak or coat or something too. But no, I was out here in my bloody nightgown, holding a torch in one hand and my lance in the other. Because Ephraim needed light and there was no way I was going to be weaponless considering everything. Even Ephraim held onto his lance as he investigated the bodies.

Brynhildr growled quietly, and I looked up to see her gaze was fixed on something in the distance. She settled back on her haunches, wings unfurled slightly to make herself appear larger. I frowned worriedly and almost dropped the torch to snatch Ephraim and leave, but she glanced down and shook her head. Whatever it was she smelled or sensed, it wasn't near enough for us to stop. She was just preparing for a 'just in case'.

"Is everything alright?" Ephraim asked. He still looked through the bodies, getting his own sleeping clothes bloodier. I thought I saw him shivering, but he kept on looking. "I heard her growl."

"For now, everything is fine, save for the fact that it's cold, we're dealing with the aftermath of assassination attempts, and we're standing in puddles of blood with bodies all over the place," I retorted. I thought I heard him muffle a laugh. "So, you know, the usual."

"The usual." He glanced up then, smiling slightly. "But whatever is making her worry is definitely still out there."

"For all I know, what she's worried about killed these guys." I paused as a horrible thought occurred to me. "They are all dead, right? I smell the rot setting in, but…"

"Yeah, I think so. I hope so, at least, given that I've been pawing at them to try and find anything helpful." He straightened then, grimacing as he tilted his head to the side, trying to stretch his neck out. "Near as I can tell, they were killed with weapons. I'd guess lances, based on the wound shape and the number of pierce wounds they have. The messiness of those wounds also makes me wonder if it was a killer lance, but hell if I actually know."

"That's the lance that's barbed and jagged on the edges, right? Designed to create messy wounds that are hard to heal?" I glanced around the area again, and shuddered as I took in all the blood and broken bodies. It might have been done with weapons, but the sheer brutality of these injuries… they might've gotten more mercy from a rabid beast. "I wonder how long it took them to die."

"Hopefully, not long." He rolled another corpse over, and something fell, clattering on the ground dully. "Hmm, what's this?" He reached for it, frowning. "A dagger?"

"Wait!" I winced at how loud my voice was, echoing off the walls. He did stop, though, and looked up at me curiously. "You're not wearing gloves," I continued, more softly. "And these were assassins. Let me."

"Ah, right, poison." He nodded and stood up slowly. He winced a few times, and I wondered if he'd pulled something during the fight. "I'll take back the torch then."

"Yeah, here." I passed it back to him, and then crouched down to pick up the dagger. I held it up to try and get a good look at it, but honestly, all I could see was the blood caked firmly on the blade. "Well, I guess some of the piercing wounds were from this?"

"At least on this corpse." He pointed towards one behind him, which very clearly had gaping holes in the front _and_ back. I grimaced at the sight. "Still, looks odd. Anything on the hilt?"

"The hilt is grimy." But it was an expensive dagger. I could tell that even through the muck. "Are any of the corpses missing daggers?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm sure some were scattered, and maybe whoever killed them took some as trophies." Ephraim sighed. "We can't figure it out based on that. It would be convenient if it led us to whoever killed them, though."

"It would." I looked at the body, noticing that half of the face was basically destroyed. Yes, a beast would've been far more merciful. "Anything else?"

"Honestly, no, and I promised Eirika we wouldn't be out long." He shifted his lance to under his arm and held out his hand to help me up. "Let's head back."

"You won't hear me complain." I shifted the dagger to my lance hand and took his hand to pull myself up. "Should we bring the dagger back?"

"I think so. It's really the only thing we found." He helped steady me as my legs protested before palming his lance again. "Gods, damn it..." He glowered up at the sky. "What are we dealing with here?"

There was, of course, no answer. We just silently climbed back up to Brynhildr, helping each other since we technically had our hands full, and mounted up. Brynhildr took off almost instantly, waiting only long enough for us to get settled before flying high above the clouds. Ephraim yelped and held onto me tightly, and I couldn't help but laugh a little before leading Brynhildr back to the palace, doing a wide arc to check the grounds again, just in case.

When we landed, Seth actually took Brynhildr to clean her up and settle her in for the night. Franz, sporting a bandage on his neck, escorted Ephraim and I to a side room where Prince Innes and Eirika waited for us. Eirika gave us both ginger tea to sip, with Ephraim giving a report of what we found. I was tempted to leave and let them deal with it all, but once I'd sat down, I realized how tired and achy I was. I didn't want to move. So I remained, drinking the tea, and trying to not just pass out.

"So, we have some of our would-be attackers dead, in the mountains, due to something unknown, and no other information about any of this," Prince Innes summarized. He frowned heavily, arms crossed, and he glowered at the bowl of water we'd dropped the knife into to start cleaning. "It'll be morning before that even has a chance of being identified. Was there really nothing else?"

"Nothing that I could find," Ephraim confirmed. He, like me, was sitting. Eirika and Prince Innes only had two chairs set up. "Nothing that looked like an insignia. Nothing that looked like paper. Nothing that could be used for anything, really. We can check again in the morning, but..."

"Definitely professionals, then. Damn, I'd hoped for idiots. Idiots and arrogant fools make things easy." Prince Innes uncrossed his arms, but his frown and glare didn't waver. "What a nuisance."

"That's certainly one way to put it." Ephraim looked up at Eirika briefly before sipping his tea. "Another way to put it is that we fell into yet another gods damned trap."

"…You've noticed as well, then." Prince Innes's glare faded, but his frown deepened. "How many traps there have been, I mean."

"Hard not to." Ephraim leaned back in his chair and looked around for a place to set his mug. Eirika took it and set it on the table next to the bowl. "Especially considering everything. How many have there been?"

"There's the one here. In fact, we can argue there were _two_ here, considering those assassins." Prince Innes sighed. "Not to mention the port, based on what you told me."

"There's also the attack on the castle," Eirika slowly pointed out. She leaned slightly against the table, speaking softly. "I think you can qualify that as a trap?"

"At the least, it was a show of how they were a step ahead of us," Prince Innes agreed. He got a sour look on his face, like he hated being so far behind. "We were on the complete defense on the border as well. I got them to a standstill, but that took quite a bit of unorthodox tactics."

"Unortho... no, never mind." Eirika shook her head. "Continuing on the traps, there was a trap on Renvall that almost caught me."

"Two," Ephraim corrected. He sighed. "Two. There were the two traps in Renvall that almost got both of us. Just because Forde, Kyle, and I escaped doesn't meant I didn't lead them head first into a trap. And trap then adapted to almost get you."

"There was also that dark mage we came across," I reminded Eirika. She winced, and I felt bad bringing it up. I was sure she still remembered that dead little girl; I certainly did. I also remembered nearly getting Vanessa killed. "He'd set up a teleportation circle. Natasha said those take time."

"So, there's another one." Ephraim grimaced. "Yeah, we're in trouble. I was talking about this earlier with Joshua, since both of us couldn't sleep. Got a lovely description of how brilliant their tactics have been while he kicked my ass at cards. Knocking out Renais to force us on one path if we want to warn the others... that was a key thing, clearly."

"After all, if you force your enemies to a single path, it's all too easy to set up traps." I leaned forward in my chair and set my empty mug on the floor. I tried not to wince as my arms protested the movement. "We might want to just count on running into an ambush when we leave the mountains. Just because we're going through on a path not many know…"

"It doesn't mean that path will lead past whatever they have set up on the border," Prince Innes agreed. He was back to glowering, though he did turn away to tend to the fire we had going. It was the only light in the room, at the moment. "At this rate, Jehanna will be a ruin by the time we make it."

"But we still have to keep going," Eirika whispered. She smiled kindly, but her expression was already tired. "If we don't, then they have no chance, really." She paused and then laughed bitterly. "That sounds so arrogant. Their army could…"

"Jehanna doesn't have an army," I corrected. All three turned to me. Ephraim and Prince Innes were stoic, while Eirika looked surprised. "Jehanna keeps no standing army. Armies require payment and food, neither of which Jehanna has to spare. It struggles enough to feed its people, after all, so it only has the mercenaries and the Knights of the Oasis."

"And there's a damn good chance we've killed a lot of mercenaries alongside everyone else Grado has thrown at us," Ephraim growled. He hit the arm of his chair, annoyed. I couldn't blame him, especially since it was another sign of how Grado had outplayed us. "How many Knights of the Oasis are there?"

"That we can be certain will actually fight for Jehanna when Grado flies in? One." I leaned back in my chair, feeling drained. I barely noticed how both Ephraim and Prince Innes looked surprised at that. "Carlyle, the leader of the Knights of the Oasis, serves in the castle. He's the only one."

"But they're knights." Ephraim frowned. "Don't they-"

"They're not like Seth or Or… or Franz." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It stuck a bit, reminding me that I hadn't washed off the blood yet. I was still in my stained nightgown. I still had blood caked between my toes. I felt so, so gross. "They're not like Gilliam or Vanessa. The Knights of the Oasis swear no oath to country or crown. They swear no oath to royal family. They swear to a person, and they last swore to King Raphael, who died, unexpectedly, ten or eleven years ago." I hadn't known that they only swore to King Raphael; Joshua had told me that. He knew a lot about them. "The person they swore to is dead. They have not given their oaths to Queen Ismaire. They're not obligated to do anything. They might, but they are not certain."

"…Ah." Ephraim fell silent, eyes dark. "So…"

"Marisa was the last one to leave Jehanna of our group, so she'd probably have the most current information. But, honestly, Jehanna only has whatever mercenaries haven't taken jobs, some city guards, and Carlyle to defend itself." Queen Ismaire had been a skilled mercenary, but honestly, since she was the reigning queen of a nation perpetually on the edge of trouble, I highly doubted she was in practice. "And the desert, of course, but two-thirds of Grado's army will have full, or near full, movement through it. The heat and unexpected sandstorms will cause trouble, but they do for everyone."

"Water. They might underestimate the amount of water they need to bring." Ephraim stiffened as a thought occurred to him. "Oh, hell, _we_ need to make sure we have enough water."

"Especially since the Vrep is down." I shrugged as the three looked at me. "Tethys really wanted to play with my hair earlier, so I got to overhear a lot while half-asleep. Jehanna's in a bad state." I paused as I remembered something. "Oh, right, speaking of countries in bad states, Joshua actually was in Grado not long before the war. He mentioned they were hit with two bad earthquakes that destroyed farmlands."

"They _what_?" Ephraim's jaw dropped and he looked to Eirika, who had covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. "Lyon mention anything to you? He didn't to me."

"No, not at all," Eirika murmured. Her eyes became sad and she slumped. "Oh, goodness…"

"Well, what do you know? There might actually be some initial practically to this war," Prince Innes deadpanned. He, however, looked annoyed. "Except not. Renais would've gladly helped, and there is still no explanation for why they want to destroy the Sacred Stones."

"No, that's true." Eirika clasped her hands in front of her, rolling her shoulders back to help fix her posture. "But even knowing that might help us figure out how they're bringing people into the army, besides propaganda."

"Mmm, true." Prince Innes glanced at me. "Anything else they happen to say that might be useful for us to know?"

"You could just talk to them on your own," I pointed out immediately. "I guarantee you that they'll be able to handle your awkwardness and pride. They're veteran mercenaries." I closed my eyes, though, mostly to avoid Prince Innes's scowl. I did catch Eirika and Ephraim's snickers, though. "Mmm… oh, well, maybe one thing." I opened my eyes again, smiling wryly. "The general that slaughtered a bunch of people in the Tower of Valni, Caellach, might be a former Jehannan mercenary. Joshua mentioned the description matched a friend from his old mercenary group."

"…Then we need to assume he's leading the Jehannan expedition, and that they will be _well_ prepared for any sort of assault," Prince Innes murmured. He pinched the bridge of his nose, warding off a headache. "Eirika, Ephraim, do either of you know of someone with tactical skill in Grado? Because Grado is ruling the war, and none of my spies have been able to figure out who is their tactician."

"My best guess, at the moment, is that Emperor Vigarde is listening to everyone's input and making strategies based on that," Ephraim sighed. "Grado never had an 'official' tactician. Just people who were clever."

"We'll have to best that cleverness. We are not allowed to lose this." Prince Innes shook his head and dropped his hand. "But that's enough for the evening, I suppose. I still have to write my father about this. I need to tell him that I doubled Gerik and Tethys's pay, for one thing."

"You probably need to mention Tana's with us." Ephraim's voice was very light, but Prince Innes stilled. "We haven't had a chance."

"You _what_." Prince Innes glared. "You let her come along, despite all logic dictating you should do otherwise, and then you never even sent a letter to let my father know?"

"Well, we don't have your spies, Innes, or safe ways to deliver messages." Ephraim smiled angelically. Prince Innes looked ready to strangle him. Eirika looked torn between laughing and groaning. "Though, in the interest of not dying, I'm going to point out that Emma actually gave some logical reasons for it."

"And that is definitely my cue to leave," I noted, making myself stand up. Prince Innes turned his glare my way, but I ignored it to pick up my lance. "Though, she is older than some of our soldiers, flies well, fought well, continues to fly and fight well, probably has just as much experience in fighting as Franz and Ross, and more experience than Colm, Neimi, and Amelia…" I limped towards the door. "And she's not a kid, though I do highly recommend her talking to Moulder or Natasha since I'm sure she's hurting more than she's saying. But anyway, goodnight!"

I walked out while Prince Innes tried to process that ramble, partly to avoid getting yelled at and partly… partly out of pain. I'd recognized the look on his face, a protective older brother. Orson had looked the same, when he'd betrayed everyone yet saved me. Well, not exactly the same, but… Ah, I was probably just being too sensitive. I was certainly tired enough for anything and everything to bother me, at least.

"Emma!" Eirika, however, was certainly not something that could ever bother me, especially when she jogged to catch up. "I left Ephraim to get yelled at by Innes," she explained, giggling. "So, what do you say about still sharing a room for the night?"

"At this point, I'm tempted to just share Brynhildr's stall," I half-grumbled. I relaxed, though, and smiled back. "So that we get a good night's rest."

"That's true. Brynhildr won't let anything happen to us." She became thoughtful, and it slowly dawned on me that she was seriously considering it. "Mmm, maybe when we're out and camping, we shift her 'resting area' closer to our tent?"

"That sounds marvelous, actually, though it does mean changing the layout of the camp. I doubt our typical neighbors will take kindly to Brynhildr's bulk looming outside their tents."

"True." She giggled again, and I laughed as well. "Ah, this has been so long of a day…"

"And it'll probably only be the first of more long days."

"Too true. For now, though, I look forward to going to bed and…" She trailed off, frowning. "Oh, shoot. We're not allowed back in that room, and that's where our change of clothes is."

"Oh, that's… fun." I glanced at her and noticed her nightgown was stained, just like mine. "We won't even be able to change clothes."

"No, I don't think so. We might be able to sneak a quick wash in…" Eirika sighed. "Oh, morning is going to be so much fun."

"There's going to be a stampede towards like… everything." I grimaced, just trying to imagine it. "Well, why don't I pop over to your room and snag a few things for us?"

"Really?" She frowned and stopped walking. "Alone?"

"Well, you don't have your rapier." I pointed for emphasis, and she nodded reluctantly. "We're not far from the main room, and you can send someone after me immediately. It shouldn't take long."

"…I will send someone after you immediately."

"That's fine." I smiled and gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay." She sighed again, but smiled. "If you come across anything dangerous, run."

"Promise." I winked and walked away, darting down the halls. While the place was still far too large, I did manage to find the right hallway before long. From there, it was just counting rooms, and opening a few when I miscounted or misremembered the number.

It still didn't take me too long to find it, thankfully. With a sigh of relief, I opened the door carefully, and almost stepped it. But then I froze as the fading light from the hallway revealed a... rather messy sight. Glass shards from the window glittered across the floor. The curtains were ripped and scattered about. The bed was splintered. The blankets were mangled. But all that paled to the blood. Because there was blood everywhere. _Everywhere_. Sliding down the walls. Dripping from the ceiling. Creeping across the floor. Soaked into the remains of the bed and blankets and curtains. Glinting off the tiny bits of glass that lingered in the window frame. It took me a long moment to even realize that the window wasn't completely empty. Because there, pinned to the frame with a large, jagged glass shard, was a hand. A hand patchy with blood.

Slowly, carefully, I walked inside, grimacing as the cold blood squelched between my toes. I kept my lance in hand, and looked around, just in case there was anything actually alive in the room. But there was nothing. There was no one. I reached the hand without issue, aside from a rolling stomach, and I leaned out slightly to see the hand, thankfully, was attached to a body. A corpse, based on the bone splinters and the completely caved in face, and one of the would-be assassins, given the garb. I looked carefully outside and saw more bodies below but nothing that moved, so I grabbed the back of the corpse's shirt and dragged it inside, jarring the shard out of the window frame in the process.

Due to the blood, I lost my grip fairly quickly and the corpse flopped to the ground with a quiet, dulled 'splash', splattering more blood across my nightgown. I froze when I noticed there was another glass shard through its back, this time pinning a piece of paper to it. Slowly, checking that I was still wearing my leather gauntlets, I removed it. Then, I jumped back so that my back was to a wall, and, after a quick look around to confirm that, yes, I was the only breathing thing in this room, I unfolded it to try and read it. It was mostly illegible, due to the bloodstains, and the fact that… well, the 'ink' was crimson and uneven, hinting that this lovely little message was actually written in blood. So that meant where the new blood seeped… it really hid the message. In the end, I could only read one line, and even then, I was missing a couple of words: _'I will not permit a_ to sate their bloodlust on you. On_. You are my finest _.'_

"Emma?" Seth's voice echoed down the hall. "Emma, are you here? Princess Eirika is worried," he called, sounding not all that far away. Quickly, and jerkily, I stumbled out of the door, just in time to catch him before he passed. And his eyes widened as he rested a hand on my shoulder to steady me. "Emma, there's fresh blood on you."

"Yeah, I know," I whispered. I thought about explaining, but then shrugged and gestured inside. "Take a look."

"Inside here?" Face impassive, Seth did peek inside. He stared for a full second before quietly closing the door. "Well, that escaped any reports given to me. I'll have a word with those I sent out." He glanced at me, and I tried not to squirm at the implication that this might've happened in the time between his patrols and now. I didn't like it. "I feel that anything you and Princess Eirika might need from the room can wait until the morning."

"Honestly, we just wanted clean clothes, but I'm not sure we have any in there anymore." After a moment, I held up the note I'd found. "This was pinned to a corpse dangling outside. I'm afraid I might've ruined most of it with the blood, though."

"That's fine, Emma. I'm certain anyone would do the same." He took it from me carefully and frowned as he read what bits were legible. "Who would write this?"

"Whoever created the mess, I guess." I was far more worried about what the missing words were. Worse, I felt like I had the answer, but I was too tired, too worried, too drained to try and figure out what it was. "Between this and the ones we found slaughtered in the mountains…"

"Slaughter? No, never mind." He shook his head. "I'm sure I'll hear about it soon enough. For now, let's see if one of the others has a nightgown for you to borrow, get you cleaned up, and get you to bed. You must reserve your strength." He rested a hand on my back and nudged me down the hall before suddenly smiling. It took two seconds to realize it was because Joshua had stepped around a nearby corner. "Ah, Joshua."

"Hey, was coming to check in on petal, since she was the only one I hadn't seen," Joshua explained, walking quickly towards us. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, face worried. "Did we have another lovely surprise?"

"Let's just say Eirika's room is ruined, brother," I murmured. Joshua immediately shifted to my side, gave me a one-armed hug, and kissed the top of my head reassuringly. "Gods, this is a mess, literally."

"Yeah, assassins are always so rude." He smiled and glanced at Seth in silent question. Seth just held up the paper. "Ooo, messages. Scary."

"Would you like to see the room?" Seth offered. He looked almost amused, but there was still a seriousness to his demeanor as he pointed to the door. "You're welcome to it."

"Well, now I'm morbidly curious," Joshua half-joked. He went to the door and opened it to peer inside. And stared for a long moment to take in everything, thanks to the dim light. "Wow, that's the… fifth worst scene? Fourth? I'd have to think a bit."

"Just fourth?"

"Well, what's it on your list?"

"Third, though that could be my fears of 'what if'. This is Princess Eirika's room."

"Oh, well, if we're going to add 'what if' fears, then I'd probably go with third as well." Joshua leaned back and closed the door. "Well, if you want to get a jump on investigation, I'll take petal over to dove. Tana and Natasha are with her now."

"That would be nice, actually. I'd like to see if there's anything to find underneath the window."

"A bunch of bodies," I informed him, voice dryer than I wanted. Both looked to me curiously. "I was checking there wasn't something alive ready to snipe me. I found bodies at the bottom."

"Still might be able to find something," Seth pointed out. His smile turned wry. "I suppose I got all my sleep tonight."

"I'm sure someone can take over, you know." I shrugged. "Then again, what do I know? Except that I'm tired and feeling whiny."

"Whine away!" Joshua laughed. He slung his arm around my shoulders and began leading me away. "I'm all ears, and this was the exact opposite of a good night's rest."

Joshua continued to tease and cajole me until I really was complaining, and he listened with a smile and a joke to make me laugh. He even complained too, just so that I didn't feel quite so bad. But even with that, I had an unshakeable feeling, and no amount of comfort was going to take that away.

This was going to get so much worse before it got better, wasn't it?

* * *

 _Notes on Innes:_

 _The 18 year old Crown Prince of Frelia, well known for his keen eye, prodigious skill with a bow, amazing tactical prowess, and a complete inability to hold proper conversations._

 _Probably because of his tactical genius, but he's best suited for ambushing, with a strong combination of speed, skill, and strength needed for killing quickly. He's poor with it comes to close combat, though, and I think it plays a part in his intense rivalry with Ephraim. Not that Ephraim notices._

 _Arrogant and awkward, but he does care dearly for his friends. His lact of tact, though, make it almost hilarious as he cannot spit things out properly. He does have his softer sides, though._

 _Notes on Tethys:_

 _A 22 year old dancer from Jehanna, part of Gerik's mercenaries. Ewan's older sister, and quite motherly with everyone._

 _Though she knows very little weapons, she's very fast and clever, keen observation allowing her to dodge gracefully. Her Dancer's Gift helps the fighters with boosts of energy, though she primarily helps out as a scout/spy._

 _She has a strict beauty regime that she happily shares with anyone who asks. She and Gerik get into playful arguments over how long it takes her in the morning, normally right before they kiss._

 _Notes on Gerik:_

 _The 24 year old Desert Tiger, leader of the most famous Jehanna mercenary group. Very observant and clever._

 _Known for his kindness and protectiveness, he actually detests violence, keeping with the job solely to look out for the people he loves. Despite this, he's fast and strong, with few who can match him. He's particularly protective of Tethys, his lover._

 _Rumors paint him as a potential Knight of the Oasis, but he never brings it up and seems uncomfortable with it._

 _Notes on Marisa:_

 _A 19 year old mercenary known at the Crimson Flash. Part of Gerik's mercenary group, she's far more loyal to the group than she is to her own reputation._

 _Very fast and very skilled, she fights far more pragmatically than other swordsmen, throwing in kicks and punches to offset her weaker strength. Ties with Joshua in their practice duels._

 _She's surprisingly clumsy when not in battle, mostly because she'll hyperfocus on things and notices everything._

* * *

Author's notes: Assassins are so underutilized in Fire Emblem games. Assassins-assassins, not 'assassins as part of a large army' thing. With poisons and the like. Normally, I wouldn't put bios at the end of an interlude, but I opted out of it and author's notes last time to make more of a cliffhanger.

So, notes for the last two chapters. Yes, Myrrh isn't with the group now. Normally, she sticks with Ephraim, but since Ephraim is tagging along with Eirika in this novelization, she's in Castle Frelia to lessen on the number of things I have to keep track on. There's no indication in-game that Innes was poisoned by Pablo or whatever his name is, but I threw that in because. The 'Vrep' is also something made-up, since Fire Emblem rarely goes into geography, and is based on the Nile. The 'Etna' revolt in Jehanna's history also doesn't show up (in fact, there's no indication there were _any_ sort of revolts in Magvel), but 'Etna' comes from 'Mount Etna', an active volcano near Sicily, Italy, and is the place where King Arthur is supposedly buried, according to… I think three different authors. (There are other supposed places too, of course. Legends are fun!)

'Evelyn', 'Urien', and 'Kasimir' are all just random names given to previous heroes, since FE8 only names two of the Five Heroes (Grado and Latona). Evelyn will be the POV char for the eventual story about the five heroes (I doubt it's a surprise to anyone that I'll be writing one; there will also be one focusing on the parental generation).

But yeah, most of the characters have very distinctive hair colors, which I poke fun at a couple of times. And use for a little bit of terror here because distinctive hair colors mean it's very easy to be spotted. If you're wondering what is meant by 'fancy braids', just think Game of Thrones. Marisa is mentioned to be rather clumsy at anything but fighting in one of her epilogues (I think her shared one with Gerik), hence why she got tangled in blankets. The last part of the second scene, with Ewan, is based on an in-game scene that happens immediately after Chapter 10's end. Can you guess the full message? (I will note that the missing words are much longer than the sentence implies; formatting is weird.)

Next Chapter – Creeping Darkness


	18. Chapter 11) Creeping Darkness

Chapter 11) Creeping Darkness

* * *

 _After an ambush of assassins, and brutal slaughters that left far too many questions, we begin making our way to Jehanna. Ewan leads us through the nearby mountains, through the cracked, red bedrock and the knife-edged peaks. It's not the most comforting of places, but our other option is to travel through a civil-war-torn Carcino and risk even more battles. So, we climb. We climb higher and higher, and hope to everything that maybe we'd avoid trouble._

 _Somehow, I doubted it._

* * *

As we traveled through the mountains, I discovered something very quickly. Brynhildr loved being in the mountains, and I frequently had to ask permission to 'temporarily break off' because she wanted to go even higher. It wasn't just for the cool air either. No, she enjoyed hunting through the mountains, and chasing after the animals hiding in those higher places. Well, it was either that or she decided that we were all very helpless and needed fresh meat to make us stronger. Because she hunted a lot, and insisted on having us bring back the kills. The fresh meat had bolstered morale some, so no one really stopped me. Seth even approved.

"Brynhildr, if you kill a cute one again, I'm not protecting you from Eirika," I called, stretching out my arms. Brynhildr shot me a dirty look before taking to the air and perching on a nearby rock, eyes watching the nearby trees carefully. "I mean it." She did the closest wyvern equivalent of 'rolling her eyes' and leapt up, hovering over the trees. "Yeah, yeah, I'm ready."

She hovered for a brief moment moment and then dove down into the trees. Two seconds later, a couple of deer jumped out of the woods, desperately trying to escape the crazy wyvern that probably killed three of them. I watched one for a moment, aiming carefully with my bow, and then let the arrow fly. I caught my target in the neck and down it fell. I still had to mercy kill the poor thing, though. I hadn't managed a 'kill' shot, after all. That was why I was out practicing.

To my infinite surprise, the whole 'having a flying archer' thing hadn't gotten forgotten in the craziness that followed the assassins. Neimi had brought it up, actually, and Innes had seemed intrigued by the idea, meaning I'd found most of my 'free' time the past couple of days was spent in a very fierce training regime, one that made Seth nod in approval. Which meant it was really freaking brutal. But it worked. In a relatively short time, I was actually able to shoot an arrow fairly accurately. Fairly.

"Ugh, Neimi is right. Archery does hurt the back," I complained, carefully twisting to stretch out my back. It throbbed in pain and I sighed. "Brynhildr, I need my water, sweetie."

Brynhildr appeared from the trees a second later, carrying a very dead deer in her claws, and she settled down next to me, happily tearing into not only the deer she'd killed, but the one I'd killed as well.

"Thank you." I ignored her messy eating and rummaged through my pack for my waterskin, guzzling some of it before putting it back. "You're calmer today." I gently petted her neck and laughed when she offered me a piece of the deer. A rather large piece at that. "No, thank you, sweetie. I need to cook my food, and I dare not make a fire here." She tossed the piece into her mouth, chewed thoughtfully, and then leaned over to nuzzle me, getting blood in my hair. "You have the worst table manners." Still, I couldn't help but smile.

But that smile faded quickly as I thought again of those assassins. They were just a giant question mark, with us not even knowing who, exactly, hired them. Innes had his spies working on identifying dagger and the note. So far, though, they'd found nothing. Then again, it also hadn't been that long.

"I feel like that note is the clue to everything, but damn if I can actually figure it out." If I could see it again, then perhaps I'd piece it together, but Seth had refused the last time I'd asked. Part of me was annoyed, but the rest of me understood. It was valuable evidence, and very few in the army knew about it. Seth wanted to _keep_ it that way. I also was reasonably certain that he was simply fretting over me.

Brynhildr leaned over again to nuzzle me, the remains of the deer scattered about. She'd clearly eaten her fill, and now simply did her best to reassure me. I smiled back and hugged her, resting my forehead against her warm scales. She shifted her wing over me protectively, radiating comfort. She knew that I was starting to wear down. But I had to keep going. I didn't want to stand idly by, just waiting. Waiting did nothing. At least here, I had _some_ control. Though only some. Only enough, really, to help prevent some deaths. I knew I'd helped, though. Surprisingly, despite the group ever growing, our 'little' group hadn't lost a single person. We had close calls, of course. But no one had died yet. I wondered if it was worth praying that it would stay that way.

Brynhildr suddenly shifted, and her wing moved back. Frowning, I looked up, curious, and caught something flying high in the sky. I almost ignored it, thinking it was just a bird, but then I noticed the shape wasn't right. It didn't look like a bird. Instead, it looked rather like…

Brynhildr growled and launched herself into the air. I jumped back, arm up to keep the dirt from flying into my eyes, and I watched as she got smaller and smaller before she slammed into the thing, dragging it down. As the blood rained down, I saw that I'd been right. That had been no bird. It had been a wyvern and its rider, and it fell with a large splat, blood and gore splattering everywhere. I slid in the blood to reach the dazed rider and I quickly checked them over, wondering if they'd survive, and what I'd do if they could.

Thankfully, or not thankfully… regardless, there was no way the rider was surviving, so I didn't have to think on it. Brynhildr had ripped out their side, and while a healer might've been able to save them, I certainly couldn't. They were in so much pain that they couldn't even scream. So, instead, I unbuckled the top part of my left gauntlet and pulled out the dagger hidden there to slit their throat to make the death faster. I held their hand as they died and, after a moment, unbuckled them from the saddle and laid them out on the ground so that they, at least, weren't hanging awkwardly from their dead wyvern's back.

Brynhildr landed near me and held perfectly still as I climbed up into the saddle and strapped myself in. "I'm afraid we'll have to finish our hunt later, sweetie," I murmured. I checked that my lance was buckled to the saddle, and moved my quiver to its own buckle. I hesitated a moment before pulling out an arrow, securing the top of the quiver again. "That… that was a scout."

She waited until I tapped the side of her neck before launching herself into the sky. We did a quick patrol around the area before flying for the path again. We were a bit behind the army at this point, with the back lines barely in sight, but it wasn't hard to catch up. A human's brisk walk couldn't compare to a wyvern's flight, especially given that humans had to follow the road and wyverns didn't. I kept my eyes around us, leaving it to Brynhidr to find the front and coast down to land just in front of… it looked to be Ephraim and Ewan were in the very front this time. I wondered where Innes and Eirika were, but quickly saw that both were actually talking with Seth shortly behind.

"I take it that we shouldn't be preparing for fresh venison," Ephraim noted lightly, walking up with a wry smile. Ewan followed with a skip in his step, still delighted to be leading such a large group. "What happened?"

"We need to move off the path if possible," I informed him calmly. I glanced up at the sky again, and almost fired when I did notice a flier. Thankfully, though, I realized it was simply Tana, returning from her own flight, before I got the bow up. "We found a wyvern knight. Brynhildr killed them, but…"

"That's only going to buy us time to try and get out of sight." Ephraim turned to Ewan. "Is there a side path?"

"Yeah, but it's rougher," Ewan replied. He looked as cheerful as always. "This way, this way!"

* * *

Heavy fog settled onto the hidden path, slowing our progress to a crawl. I ground my teeth as I flew a high-patrol, cursing my earlier stupidity even as I kept a very close eye on the surroundings. A wyvern and its rider dying during a patrol, corpses likely showing severe claw injuries? That clearly meant they died to another wyvern, and I doubted Grado's soldiers would turn on each other. Brynhildr and I might as well given whoever was hunting us an engraved invitation. At the same time, though, it did still buy us time to hide a bit better. Hopefully. Maybe.

Finding nothing, again, I glanced down to check on the army. Noticing that they'd actually stopped, I urged Brynhildr to land and I dismounted, rolling my ankles to relieve the stiffness there. I thought about finding Natasha or Joshua to chat, but I knew I was still too tense for that. So, instead, I let the various chatter of the army wash over me as I fussed over Brynhildr's saddle. Seth encouraging Franz, Gilliam and Moulder reminiscing about King Hayden's coronation. Vanessa yelling at Forde over sleeping in battle, Ross badgering Gerik over old stories and training. Neimi and Artur talking about a mirror, Colm and Marisa speaking about an enemy she always battles. Lute and Kyle talking battle strategies, maybe. Ephraim and Tana talking about an old birthday party. Tethys teasing Amelia over something. Natasha and Joshua talking quietly over medicines…

I glanced up as I caught sounds of arguing, but quickly returned to fussing over Brynhildr's saddle when I noticed it was just Ewan and Innes, with Eirika playing peacekeeper. I was certain it was simply Ewan's friendly teasing rubbing Innes the wrong way. He'd treat it as insolence, likely, and considering what bits I did overhear, it was hard to not think the same. I half-wondered if I should get Tethys and let her know that Ewan was getting cheeky with her employer.

"I thought I saw you land." Ephraim walked up then, smiling slightly. "Eirika was wondering if you'd be back soon before she got dragged into that," he explained, gesturing to the argument. "On the one hand, Ewan's a child. On the other, I think he called Innes an 'old man'? Maybe it was just mister or something."

"If he did say 'old man', we should bring up Tethys, since I know she's older," I half-joked, trying to smile back. I knew it failed, though, so I just went back to checking my packs and weapons. Brynhildr shifted to watch Ephraim carefully, but didn't growl. "So, what is the argument about?"

"We're trying to decide where to camp for the night, and the nearby ruins were mentioned."

"There are ruins?" I frowned and looked around. It took a while to see the grey stone peeking out from the fog. "Oh, those ones. What's the problem?"

"Innes wants to continue on, since he thinks he hears something. Ewan is saying that he's paranoid, and that he's gone through the ruins before."

"What do you think?"

"I know Innes has the sharpest hearing of anyone I've ever met. I'd trust his hearing over my sight, any day." Ephraim shrugged. "However, I do also know that the sudden change to rougher terrain has exhausted many of us. Amelia, for instance, tries to hide it, but we've been thinking about getting her to at least ride with Franz."

"Maybe we can get her on Brynhildr. Give her a proper flight since she's only ridden while injured." I tried to make my voice cheerful, but I didn't quite manage it. I just… felt horrible.

"Eirika was right. You _are_ down about something." Ephraim gently touched my cheek to turn my face towards his. "What's wrong? Is it the battles?"

"No, not really. It's…" I sighed and reached back to fix my ponytail. I hadn't wanted to fuss with a braid today. "It's nothing. I just wish I'd stopped Brynhildr, or hadn't gone off on my own to start with."

"The flier isn't your fault, you know." He smiled kindly. "You got permission to do so, from Seth at that, and you were not the only flier out and about, remember."

"Still, though…"

"This isn't a used path. If they had scouts, then they already knew we'd gone this way." He rested a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "You were practicing, while we caught up. No one thinks you did the wrong thing."

"I do."

"Mostly no one, then." His smile warmed. "And just think. If you hadn't gone that way, that wyvern knight would've gotten to us and left without us ever knowing, likely."

"…I suppose." I did manage to smile back, though. "Thanks. Surprisingly, that does make me feel a little better."

"I do try."

"Sometimes." I couldn't help but tease, and he rolled his eyes and nodded, accepting the little 'blow'. "Though, you have been getting better. I suppose."

"Praise from you? I shall forever remember it." He grinned and I rolled my eyes, but laughed. "And it looks like the argument ended, so I should make sure Eirika doesn't want to snap at people."

"Luck." I waved him goodbye and he walked away. As he did, I noticed how the warmth of his hand lingered and the slight, silly smile I still wore. I didn't really like where those thoughts were going, so I quickly looked around for some sort of distraction. I found one fairly quickly, but I couldn't say I was too pleased by it.

Ewan had rushed ahead after the 'argument', it seemed, and was barely visible thanks to the fog, so I jogged over to where he was. I lingered back when he crouched down to poke at something, but walked closer when I noticed he was poking at corpses. Ratty clothes and sloughing off skin hinted they'd been dead for quite some time. The bones peeking through were bleached and cracked, like an animal had been gnawing on it briefly.

"Ewan, you shouldn't poke at corpses," I called. He simply twisted to sulk. "Would you like it if someone poked at you?"

"If it meant someone could learn something!" he replied eagerly. He even grinned. "Besides, I'm wondering where these came from. They weren't here last time I was here."

"You can also pick up diseases from corpses, Ewan. Get back here, and I won't tell Tethys."

"Meanie!" He stuck his tongue out and slowly stood, turning towards me. "Fine, fine, I'm-"

At that exact moment, though, I saw the corpse's hand twitch. I lunged forward automatically, snagging Ewan by the shirt and dragging him backwards as a wickedly sharp claw just barely missed him. The corpse flipped to its feet with startling speed and tried to strike a second time. It caught me across the neck, barely, and I kicked it back to get a bit more distance.

Then Brynhildr loomed over and snapped the revenant in her jaws. She thrashed the corpses about, coagulated blood and rotted flesh flying everywhere before she threw it at the wall hard enough for it to crack, and the body to splat.

"W-what was that?!" Ewan shrieked, clinging to my side. More corpses began shambling out of the ruins. "They weren't before."

"They're called revenants," I whispered. Skeletons were joining the corpses. "Eirika! We have revenants again!" I dragged Ewan with me, back to the others, who were racing about wildly. "Eirika, did you hear me?"

"I did!" Eirika half-snapped. She was checking her rapier over, tapping the hilt in annoyance. I wondered what had her riled before deciding it didn't matter. It might've just been general frustration. I did notice, though, that she was standing alone as the others rushed about. "Sorry…"

"No, no worries," I reassured. I tucked Ewan into my side and reached up to press against the bleeding wound. It was already scabbing up. "I just seriously didn't know if you heard me or not."

"Even if I didn't, Brynhildr made her annoyance known." She pointed to where Brynhildr was crunching some of the bonewalkers between her teeth. "Okay, where did we meet them again?"

"Za'ha woods, before Serafew. We first met L'arachel then, and that's where Artur and Lute joined us."

"So, our original Renvall group, minus Joshua and Natasha, should know a bit more…" She smiled slightly. "Sorry, Innes said I should arrange the groups."

"I was wondered where he was." A quick look around proved that Innes and Ephraim were leading an initial 'strike group' alongside Seth, to get us a little more time to set up. "Anyway, if you're worried about strategies, we do have a walking encyclopedia."

"Lute, right!" Eirika clapped her hands, smiling. "She rattled off a lot of facts when we first met, yes?"

"She might also have an idea of what more we might face." I struggled to remember as well, absently rubbing Ewan's back reassuringly. He still clung to me. "Those flying eyeballs… they didn't like Artur's light magic."

"While the revenants were slow and could take a lot of damage, and the skeletons were fast, but more fragile." She relaxed then, nodding. "Thanks, Emma. I was having a difficult time remembering just _when_ we met the things."

"To be fair, we had Serafew, and then the little girl dying to the creepy Grado guy where you lost your temper."

"Followed by Vanessa almost dying, and then you nearly dying and getting Brynhildr."

"And then Renvall."

"And then the return trip to Frelia and the attack there, plus everything that's happened these past few days…" She laughed, smiling softly yet sadly. "Oh, goodness, a lot has happened since then. But you'd think I'd remember _where_."

"I just remembered creepy things. Speaking of which…"

"Right. I'll get everyone divided up. Tana will be with you and Vanessa."

"Sounds good." I winked and then gestured to Ewan. "I'm getting him to his big sis for a proper hug. Talk later, okay?"

"That's a promise!" She ran over to Innes and Ephraim, and I went the other direction, carefully looking for Tethys.

"Ewan! Emma!" Tethys, however, found us, and she greeted me with a giant hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I saw you pull him away," she whispered. Her voice shook slightly. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad I happened to be near," I replied. I nudged Ewan to her and he instantly grabbed her in a hug. "What's he doing during the fight?"

"Probably help out Moulder and Natasha. He's pulled shifts at the Guild infirmary, after all." She gently touched the hand on my neck, frowning at the blood seeping through. "Speaking of infirmary, let's get you to Natasha."

"Unless she says otherwise, I'd like to just be bandaged. We have no idea what all we're fighting, and it's foggy. We need to save the charges." We didn't exactly have extensive supplies. This was planned to simply be a diplomatic trip originally, and Lord Klimt didn't have a lot of staves to spare.

"You can argue that with her." She smiled warmly. "Come on, though. I'd feel much better if I saw you there. Gerik can check your weapons for you?"

"Unless Gerik wants to risk a grouchy Brynhildr, then go with Joshua." At that very moment, Brynhildr actually growled, and I looked back to see her glowering at someone I couldn't quite see. My guess was Forde or Amelia, based on the bits of red armor I thought I saw. "She likes Joshua."

"Joshua, then." She laughed. "Come along."

* * *

Natasha had been reluctant, but after both she and Moulder had looked at the injury, it was agreed I could get away with just bandaging it for now. Ewan actually handled that for me, and then I met Joshua by Brynhildr, since he did check my saddle and weapons. A quick hug and a promise to be safe, and I was up in the air meeting Vanessa and Tana, getting the general plan for fliers this battle. Of course, the general plan was, basically, 'help keep things organized because we can't see a damn freaking thing'. Not that we could see much either, but we could see just a little more from the air.

"Ugh, is the fog getting thicker?" I grumbled, glowering below. I could barely make out shadows, and it was near impossible to tell which shadows were who. I couldn't see hair. I could just make out shapes. Hell, I could barely see Tana and Vanessa, despite knowing where they were. "This is the worst case scenario…"

Brynhildr crooned reassuringly and arced a bit towards the east. I frowned as I noticed a few more shapes step out from the nearby trees and tugged Brynhildr to head towards Tana, the closest other flier. A sudden screech _above_ , however, snagged my attention and Brynhildr and I had to jerk back, flipping around even, to avoid something nearly skewering us. It streaked past us and then it paused and turned, facing us. Grey, leathery skin paired with thin, almost skeletal wings. Bright yellow eyes glowing through the mist, fangs bared in a mocking grin. Black horns jutting from its head, and a matching tail lashed about. A sleek black spear was in its hands, and even from here, I could see the dried blood patches mottling the shaft.

It took a moment to realize what this was. There was only one monster with wings in the stories: gargoyles.

It loosed an ear-piercing screech and lunged again. I ducked down and scrambled for a weapon, snatching my bow and popping an arrow out of the quiver before securing the top again. On its third pass, Brynhildr twisted up into the air, and I actually went upside down as she dodged. At that point-blank range, I shot the arrow, catching it straight in the back of the head. It dropped like a stone and Brynhildr righted herself, just in time for us to see the second one.

Brynhildr pushed herself back and up as it lunged for us. I quickly undid the cap of my quiver and pulled out two arrows before firing them in rapid succession. The first arrow missed, barely grazing its face. The second one, though, went straight through the wing, and I watched it spiral down with a terrifying screech, desperately clawing the air as it tried to right itself. But in its panic, it wasn't trying to steer and thus, it crashed straight into the remains of a wall, blood trickling down the sides. It fell without another sound, and I decided they must be rather fragile.

Brynhildr loosed a warning screech a second later. I could only hope that the others would think to look up before something bad happened.

"Emma, what happened?" Tana swooped in close, eyes darting towards where the second gargoyle fell. "I saw something ambush you?"

"If I remember the stories correctly, they're called 'gargoyles'," I replied. I looked up, frowning. I saw nothing, but that didn't mean much with this fog. "Tana, can you warn the others about them? Particularly Vanessa. They were _above_ Brynhildr, so I want to head up for a high-patrol quickly."

"I've got it." She gave me a reassuring smile. "Stay safe."

"And you." I tugged on the reins and Brynhildr flew up even higher. I felt a little lightheaded and struggled to catch my breath, a feeling I hadn't felt in a while. The air… the air had to be very thin here. High-patrols on mountaintops were definitely not going to be fun. But I had to check, so I focused on keeping my breathing as even as possible, and having Brynhildr move very quickly around.

I didn't find anymore trying for a high altitude ambush, and so, Brynhildr dropped to a lower altitude and I took some time to breath and gradually my lightheadedness eased. As soon as it did, I had Brynhildr swoop around the southern side of the ruins, to see if any were trying to ambush us from that angle. As I did, though, I caught sight of something moving out of the corner of my eye and ducked down just as a handaxe passed over my head. Automatically, I shot three arrows in that direction before pausing as a couple of thoughts crept into my head. First of all, I was really high up, so whoever had thrown that clearly had a lot of strength. Second of all, I hadn't seen _any_ of these monsters use axes.

Third of all, none of them had a deep yelp of pain like the one that echoed up. So, thinking it very strange, I urged Brynhildr down, landing on the edge of a ruined wall so that I could peer inside. I frowned as I noticed a familiar green haired girl fussing over an older man with an arrow in his arm. Two more arrows were harmlessly stuck in the floor next to them.

"Hello there?" I called. Both looked up at me, and now I was certain I knew the girl. L'arachel, I thought Eirika called her. I could also see that the older man had a large battle-axe in his non-wounded hand. "I'd apologize, but I think you threw a hand axe at me?"

"Oh, so you're the archer?" the man asked. He laughed loudly, the sound echoing harshly off the stone. "Good shot, lass!"

"Thank you?" This was bizarre. "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for a place to rest when these fiends decided today was their day to die!" L'arachel declared. She frowned a little at me before smiling suddenly. "Oh, I know you! You're the delightful girl I saw in the woods of southern Renais, and in Port Kiris!"

"Yes, I'm… one of them, at least," I replied. I was honestly surprised she remembered me, considering we had _very_ little interactions. "My name is Emma."

"How lovely!" She laughed, clapping her hands together. "My name is L'arachel! It's so nice to properly meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too." I unbuckled myself from my saddle and dismounted, snagging my lance and quiver before climbing down the wall. Brynhildr leaned down as much as she could to help me. "So, you were ambushed as well?"

"We were, indeed." She actually curtseyed when I made it to the ground before helping her bodyguard dig the arrow out. She healed it quickly with a healing staff. "So, your group is here as well?"

"Yeah, we were trying to figure out where to camp for the night before we were attacked." I shrugged. "If you want a ride out, though…"

"Oh, that's sweet of you, but you needn't fret so! My divine mission is to purge the land of these creatures!" She fluffed her hair out and posed dramatically, holding out her staff like it was some sort of scepter. "I will show you the splendor that is L'arachel! Bear witness!"

"I think we're going to bear death if you don't keep it down." I really should've been a little less sarcastic, but I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. "So…"

"It's all right. Righteousness is on our side." She skipped over to me and pointed to her neck. "You're injured."

"It's not bad." I reached up automatically to make sure all the moving hadn't caused me t bleed through, but my hand didn't come away bloody. It was damp, but that was likely only sweat. "I got it healed enough, but since we're not sure how much damage these things will do, I wanted to spare the charge for now."

"A hero's soul, you have!" She smiled kindly, but her hand came up to touch the hair falling by my face. It was then I remembered what Joshua said about how Raustenians viewed those with red hair and red eyes. 'Children of misfortune'. 'Children of demons.' Those words echoed through my head and I stiffened, wondering if I should run. But though she looked studying, her smile remained and, after a long moment, she nodded and stepped back. "Yes, my uncle is right. You cannot be a demon, or a child of a demon, and have such a wondrous soul. That is merely old superstition, the mark of those too scared of what is different."

"That is… kind of you to say."

"It is truth. I am glad I snuck out. I could see the proof of his words with my own eyes." Her smile somehow became even kinder. "My uncle does say that those of red hair and red eyes are blessed by darker gods than our Rausten, but how can you say a day is complete without the night? It is the night we entrust our sleep to, after all."

"I'm not… quite sure if that's better or worse?" I had to shrug, mostly to do something. But it did remind me of what Natasha had said about how Grado viewed 'red eyes', and there was a little comfort in that. Little. "But, hey, I enjoy not being screamed at for being a demon? I do that enough in my own head."

"Oh, now why would you do that? You're wonderful." She looked confused for a split-second before turning to smile at the man. "Dozla, please work with dear Emma to eradicate these unclean monstrosities, okay?"

"Certainly!" the man boomed, laughing. I actually had to cover my ears as the echoes bounced back. Brynhildr growled in warning, but the man didn't seem to notice. "Any particular instructions?"

"No, no, just continue as you do," L'arachel reassured. "Destroy, destroy, destroy. But do be sure to enjoy yourself, darling."

"Done, and done!" And, with a loud battlecry, he launched himself out the room and into a mess of enemies that had, no doubt, been attracted by all the noise. "Gwahahaha!"

"I am stuck with the loudest people," I muttered, not quite sure what to do about that. I looked up in the sky and noticed Tana flying near, head turned this way and that, possibly looking for me. "Tana!"

"There you are!" Tana arced over and had her pegasus hover over the ruined wall Brynhildr was perched on. "I heard a lot of yelling, and then I couldn't find you," she noted, looking at L'arachel curiously. "Wait, did we see her at…?"

"Sorry to make you play messenger again, but can you let Eirika know that L'arachel is here and I'm sticking near to make sure she and her bodyguard don't die?"

"Got it!" She winked and waved to L'arachel. "We think the monsters might be clearing up."

"That would be good. Be careful, though."

"And you!" She took off then, and I walked towards the 'door' of the room we were in, wondering if I could drag Dozla back or something.

A strange wolf-dog-thing with orange fur, however, lunged through before I could even try and managed to get a good bite on my leg. I stabbed it through the back with my lance, barely missing my own foot in the process, and then pulled out my bow to shoot two more. It took four arrows and I winced at that. But, hey, I did hit?

"Mauthe doogs, I believe these are called," L'arachel murmured. She helped me pry off the dog's corpse off my leg and healed up the injury. "They were used for flanking maneuvers, I think?"

"So, part of, say, the second wave of the forces?" I whispered. I narrowed my eyes as I saw more appear, along with skeletons and revenants. "Gods, nothing is going right."

"Mmm…" L'arachel's smile finally faded and she looked up at me seriously. "This all reminds me of the Demon King, though."

"Does it?" I shot another mauthe doog. It took a second shot to kill it. "How? Besides the monsters, I mean."

"The stories say that the Demon King first turned the humans against each other, and then overran them with his monsters." She smiled then, and it was almost bright. "Ah, but never fret! We shall rend these creatures to pieces!"

"…Sure." I had many questions, but they were for another time. "Brynhildr, fight any gargoyles for me, will you?"

There was far too much going on right now to even begin worrying about anything but surviving the fight.

* * *

The monsters were dealt with before long, and it was quickly decided that we'd press on after setting the place on fire. There had been a worry that our pursuers would see, but the chances of the monsters coming back and ambushing us was just too great to not take that risk. So, one massive bonfire later, we had marched until we could no longer see the flames and set up camp. Around that time, everyone's exhaustion kicked in. Everyone's save L'arachel. She, apparently, had enough energy to tire the damn sun.

"She's so loud," I murmured, holding perfectly still as Joshua wrapped a bandage around my lower legs. L'arachel had done what she could, but the mauthe doogs were very insistent on striking that unarmored part, and I got tired of burning through her staff's charges. "I shouldn't be complaining, but…"

"She's an interesting one, that girl," Joshua half-agreed, mostly focused on making sure the bandage wasn't twisted. But it didn't escape me that Joshua kept one careful eye on L'arachel as she chatted happily with Eirika, Innes, and Ephraim. It also didn't escape me that Tethys kept well away from her, and Ewan close. Ewan, notably, didn't even pretend to protest. "She is definitely a noble. You don't have that little common sense and not be a noble."

"Ephraim and I theorized she's Rausten's princess."

"I can see that. It would explain the bodyguard, and how she managed to slip out. Pontifex Mansel is well known for three things. His pacifistic nature, his moderate stance on many of Rausten's teachings, and his complete and utter doting on his niece." He tied off one bandage and then shifted me so that my other leg was in his lap. "Wow, they went after you."

"They went after Dozla more, but apparently, the loud laugh makes it so that he just soaks up damage." I grimaced at how caustic that sounded. "I should be more grateful. They _are_ helping us out."

"You also can't help but wonder if so many monsters would've showed up if they'd been quieter." He grinned and I sulked. "Relax, petal. Everyone has people they just can't stand. If you really feel bad, just try to talk to them and get to know the person under the bombastic manner."

"Do you have people you can't stand? You're the friendliest person in the army."

"That's because this army doesn't have people I can't stand, petal." His grin faded for a serious look. "People who delight in brutality, for one thing, like that Valter fellow."

"I can't see anyone like that joining."

"True, they'd be with Grado right now. Lots of chances to slaughter people." He finished bandaging my other leg, and sat back, smiling. "Well, you're all bandaged up. I'm surprised Brynhildr let you get so eaten up!"

"Brynhildr was keeping those nasty gargoyles away." I made a face as I thought of how many had tried to ambush us. "Ugh, they suck. All the monsters suck."

"That they do."

"Hello!" L'arachel's cheerful voice nearly made me yelp, though Joshua remained as calm as ever. "Is everything all right?" she asked, frowning worriedly over the bandages. "We're resting now, so…"

"Nah, we can't guarantee we'll find a place to restock soon," Joshua refused for me. He smiled kindly up at L'arachel, a smile she returned. "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to check on dear Emma, and Natasha asked for you."

"Did she? I wonder if she needs help with stitching an injury." Joshua stood easily, ruffling my hair as he passed by. "Lead on, then."

"Don't flirt too much," I teased, mostly just because. He laughed and waved as he left, but I frowned as I noticed the slight strain to it. There was something going on there. I could only hope that Natasha could get him to talk.

Sighing, I laid down in the grass, enjoying the way it tickled the back of my neck. For once, Brynhildr actually wasn't near me. She was already settled down near the tent. I should probably also be there, given how late it was, but I didn't want to move. I wanted just two seconds to myself.

"That looks comfy." Eirika leaned into view. "Do you think we can get away with just sleeping out here?" she asked with a smile. She looked a little grey from exhaustion, and she still had dried blood on her neck. Then again, I did as well. "Or do you think we'd get yelled at?"

"We'd have to get Brynhildr over here," I pointed out. I pushed myself up again and shrugged. "So, not today, at least. I think she's settled in for the night."

"I see." She sat down next to me, carefully sweeping her skirt under her. "So, I've a question."

"Yes?"

"I've noticed how wary the Jehannans are with L'arachel." She leaned her head against my shoulder. "I remember Joshua mentioned tensions, but it's particularly… I don't know. Tethys won't let Ewan anywhere near."

"It's the coloring, Eirika." I sighed, and closed my eyes. "In Grado, red eyes are a warning. Do not anger or hurt this person or the Queen of the Dead will send the Gods of Death after you. In Jehanna, red eyes and red hair is a mark of blood in the spirit, lucky and skilled warriors with a talent of escaping death." I paused to let her process all that. "And, in Rausten, the same coloring marks a Child of Misfortune, a scion of demons."

"…That makes no sense to me, really." She laughed sadly. "Well, I can get the talented warrior and talent of escaping death thing. Out of the five I know… well, it's you, Seth, Joshua, Tethys, and Ewan."

"And Tethys likely weaponizes that luck. She works primarily as a spy." I rested my cheek against her hair. "Anyway, that's it. If L'arachel is as moderate as her words imply, it should clear up before long. Right now, it's just checking to see if her actions back up her words. And even if not, just expect professionalism. It would be Joshua, Tethys, and Ewan who faced the worse, but Joshua and Tethys are mercenaries. They're used to hate-filled words."

"That's so sad." She sighed and leaned a little more against me. I didn't mind. "Ah, I'm so tired."

"I hear you." I glanced up at the sky, and saw the sparkling stars. It was _really_ late. Normally, we'd all be settled down for now. "More monsters, huh? A second wave."

"If there are more, then the Demon King's influence is growing, isn't it? Just as the stories warned would happen if the Sacred Stones were broken."

"I wonder why they made the things so freaking fragile. I mean; they're sacred and important. Shouldn't that mean 'not easily destroyed' or something?" It was hard to not grumble, but thankfully, she just laughed tiredly. "At this rate, I really wonder if there will _be_ a Magvel once this war ends."

"Who knows? But even if it's destroyed, I will restore it. I promise that." She lifted her head and smiled at me. It actually looked warm and determined, so I had to smile back. "We should get to sleep, though."

"Are we dismissed for the day?"

"I'm dismissing us, and Tana has promised to tie down Innes if he tries to make us move again."

"Send L'arachel. She'd wear him out."

"That's…" She struggled for a word before just shrugging and laughing. This time, it actually sounded happy. "Time to sleep."

"Bath, then sleep."

"Agreed." She stood up and offered me her hand. "Come on."

I took it easily and we joined the lines for the quick wash in the bath tents. Afterwards, we both crawled to our tents, changed into nightclothes, left our dirty clothes off to the side for laundry in the morning, and climbed into our bedrolls to sleep. Except, I couldn't. I couldn't sleep. Despite being so tired, I just couldn't get to sleep. I tossed and turned for a while before giving up and heading outside. I didn't want to wake up Eirika, and she was soundly asleep for once. Brynhildr wasn't, though. She was wide awake, settled behind our tent as always, her wings out slightly to make herself bigger. Her eyes darted across the skies, growling softly. Whatever had been making her tense… it hadn't gone away. We, of course, wouldn't have been so lucky.

"I wish I could better understand your growls, Brynhildr," I murmured. I gently stroked her neck to try and soothe her. She reached around and nuzzled my cheek. Her wing came around me, as close to a hug as a wyvern could get. "Is it close?" She looked up and then, after a long moment, shook her head. "Just nearing. Okay. I'm going to warn whoever is on watch. I'll be right back." She very reluctantly brought her wing back. "I won't be long." I kissed her nose and she sulked a bit. "Really. Just keep guard here."

It still took a little more cajoling to get her to agree to let me wander the camp. It took a while to find someone else awake. It looked like most people were asleep. Neimi and Amelia hadn't even managed to close their tent properly before they passed out; I fixed it for them to help ward off the cold. I also fussed over the fire a bit, noticing it hadn't been properly… dampened or whatever the term was. Little things, easily missed. I fixed what ones I saw, and meandered towards the edge of camp, looking for someone on patrol.

To my surprise, though, I found Ephraim standing guard. "Well, this is unexpected," I murmured, walking over. He whirled, lance at the ready, but relaxed fairly quickly. "For some reason, I didn't think I'd find you on watch."

"I couldn't sleep, so I volunteered," he explained. He shrugged, smiling slightly. "Argued with Seth on it. He's of the opinion that the royals shouldn't do watch, in case of assassination."

"It's a precaution."

"True, but if I don't pick fights I don't win, I also don't let other people take the dangers." His smile grew, and I had to snicker at it. I was also tempted to try and mock it, as I had before, but I couldn't. It was rather admirable. "So, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep either, so I checked on Brynhildr." I looked up at the dark sky, the crescent moon barely lighting things up. "She's watching the skies, but whatever she's worried about isn't close. Just… nearing."

"I see." He closed his eyes briefly. "A shame Myrrh isn't here. I think she can actually talk to animals."

"That would be _so_ useful right now."

"Yeah, just a little." He smiled slightly and opened his eyes again. "I worry for her. This is much longer than I thought we'd be gone."

"Nothing about any of this has gone according to thought."

"True." He studied my face for a moment. "How are you doing? I know you're injured."

"I'm fine. Or, well, as fine as can be, considering we're in a war, and we're fighting literal monsters." I smiled bitterly. "This is a very weird set of circumstances. But my injuries are rather mild. I'll get them checked again in the morning."

"I see." He hesitated a bit before reaching up and brushing some wisps of hair behind my ear. "Your braid is falling out."

"Eirika braided it after our bath, but…"

"She's always bad at braiding." He laughed at that, though it was nostalgic and maybe a little pained. Perhaps remembering an old memory. "Do you want me to fix it?"

"Can you?"

"I always braided Eirika's hair, growing up. Braided my mother's too, when she was alive." He moved behind me. "So, may I?"

"Sure, I suppose." I crossed my arms and kept an eye on things around us. "But if you use this as a trick to put something in my hair or down my collar…"

"You'd probably kick me in the balls."

"I have _Brynhildr_. I'd sic her on you."

"Threat heard." He still laughed, though, and carefully undid the messy braid. "Your hair is a bit tangled."

"I was too tired to brush it." I winced at the slight but sudden pain in my scalp, a hint that he had to pull a tangle apart to actually divide my hair. "Can you minimize that?"

"That's the only one I'm pulling apart. It was a bad one." He very quickly began braiding my hair, based on how my hair was moving. "Maybe when we're next in a market, we can find feathers or beads to braid into your hair."

"Why do that?"

"It's a simple way to dress up a braid. You seem to like simple things better."

"How can you tell?"

"You flinched when Tethys mentioned 'fancy braids'."

"I did, huh?" I could see that. I was more trying to remember when that might've come up, but came up blank. "Well, yes, I prefer simple things. Why dress up a braid, though?"

"Your hair is very pretty."

"And that's the only reason?" I thought about shrugging or rolling my eyes, but I held still. "Well, I'll consider it, I suppose." Unfortunately, holding still meant my mind tried to focus on how his hands kept brushing against my neck. I didn't like the implication of why my mind would focus on that. "You're gentle."

"Eirika's got a tender scalp. It's why she keeps her hair down most of the time." His voice was soft, but it almost sounded like he was having fun. "And there. Done." He moved the braid over my shoulder and it was easy to see just how neat it was. He really was good. "Ha, that was relaxing."

"…Well, maybe I'll have you braid my hair before bed again." I tilted my head back to look at him, and caught a startled look. "Maybe. I'll think on it." I stepped away and smiled. "Regardless, I was really just looking for someone to warn about Brynhildr."

"I'll warn Seth when I get off watch, and I'll warn whoever takes over after me." He smiled back. "Good night, Emma."

"Night, Ephraim. I hope the watch remains quiet."

I turned away then, and almost thought I felt his eyes follow me as I walked back into camp. I almost looked back, but I didn't. No, I kept my gaze forward and returned to the tent. I let Brynhildr see that I had returned, and checked that Eirika was still asleep before slipping into my own bedroll. As I tried to settle down for the night, I thought again of the warmth I'd felt and had to resist the urge to facepalm and groan. I had a bad feeling on why that was. I had a very bad feeling. But now was definitely not the time to dwell on it. For one, there was a lot going on. For two… for two, I'd have to really sit down and think about why the hell I'd be falling for Ephraim in the damn first place!

* * *

 _Notes on L'Arachel:_

 _A 16 year old 'traveler' who seeks to ride the world of 'evil'. We're about 90% certain she's the crown princess of Rausten._

 _Though inexperienced, she does seem to have quite a bit of training, and has even more potential. The difficulty will be getting her that experience, but her skill with a mount means she can serve as an on-field healer more easily than Natasha and Moulder._

 _Highly dramatic, highly eccentric, but there is a gentleness and acceptance about her that make her seem so honest. Time will tell if that's true or not._

 _Notes on Dozla:_

 _The 47 year old bodyguard of L'arachel, and apparently has been with her since she was a baby._

 _Not the fastest, but is very strong and very skilled, so he really doesn't need to outspeed anyone. He just needs to get close to hit them. His strength also means that he can scale mountain sides with surprising ease._

 _Loud and boisterous, he lives life to the fullest, no matter what he does. He gets along surprisingly well with children, though, and is always willing to lend an ear._

* * *

Author's notes: And finally we get our troubadour of the group, the eccentric yet lovable L'arachel. This map is also the second map where you battle monsters, bringing in Mauthe Doogs and Gargoyles for the first time. And have a little bit of ship tease, I suppose. In-game, there's another scene, but I've moved it to the next chapter.

Dozla's age is revealed in his supports with Myrrh. In-game, Eirika is the one who recruits L'arachel, but I had Emma go with it primarily to help streamline things (it's much faster to get Emma there then Eirika). LOTS of support mentions at the beginning of that second scene. Gargoyles count as flying units, so arrows (and wind magic) are particularly effective against them, even accounting for the high defense. This is, of course, helped by how they tend to have low HP.

Fun fact: Mauthe Doog are based off the Moddey Dhoo, or Black Dog, of Manx folklore (actually, 'Mauthe Doog' might be a mistranslation of the term, but don't quote me on that), being the ghostly black dog phantom that serves as an omen of death. (Those who have read Harry Potter: this actually shows up a bit in _Prisoner of Azkaban_.)

Next Chapter – Interlude, Sunstone


	19. Interlude - Sunstone

Interlude – Sunstone

* * *

 _We encountered monsters for the second time, and gained two new, loud but kind, allies in the process. No small few of us wonder if we should return to Frelia, but despite our misgivings, we press on. We have to keep walking forward. We can't stop. If we do, then we've lost. The pace is starting to get to everyone, though. So is the sense of dread. I catch hopelessness is some people's faces, even the always energetic Ross._

 _I don't know how to cheer them up. I don't know how to make it better. I'm reminded of the days after Monica's death and do my best to hide. I don't know what else to do. I'm not good at comforting people. If I was, then Orson wouldn't have gone mad._

* * *

I had to admit. I could understand how Innes was always so damn calm now. There was something soothing about aiming an arrow at a distant target, with everything else just fading away until there was nothing but the target, the goal. While sparring with Ephraim and Seth with lances was a good way to bleed off extra anxious energy, practicing my shooting with Neimi and Innes was a good way to simply calm down.

"Your aim is getting better!" Neimi complimented as we both shot our last arrows. While most of the others were clustered at our makeshift camp, we'd been using a couple of trees a short distance away to practice while Brynhildr hunted nearby, and I noted with some amusement that hers were located farther, and better clustered, than mine. "You should try for a farther target next time."

"We'll see," I replied, rolling my shoulders. My arms and back ached, but it wasn't as bad as I was used to. I really was getting stronger, it seemed. "Should we cut out the arrows?

"In a moment. We do need to breathe." She giggled and began stretching out her arms. I set my bow down against my legs, mimicked her movements, and noticed Innes wasn't with us. I could see where he'd been shooting, though. His were even farther than Neimi's. "He got a report, and so, left early. He'll have a list of things we need to improve on later."

"I figured." After all, he always did. "We're close to our goal, right? Saleh's house isn't far?"

"That's what Ewan says." Hence why we were all stopping for an early lunch, and why Neimi and I were out practicing to start with. "We'll probably move ahead soon, since we've all caught our breath."

"Probably." I looked up at the sky, noticing how high the sun was, and the clouds drifting past. "How's the riding treating you? I've seen you practicing with Seth and Kyle."

"It's… going?" Neimi laughed awkwardly, fidgeting with her fingers. "I can stay on, at least! So, way better than a couple of days ago!"

"I heard you tried standing in the saddle while shooting an arrow."

"I did. I felt more stable." She paused. "Until I fell. But Innes says that Frelia actually has special stirrups for it.!

"I see." I still had to laugh, though, and she sulked, puffing out her cheeks like a chipmunk even. "Well, stick with sitting until we get back to Frelia. Moulder was mad at you, wasn't he?"

"He was, but only because I could've broken my neck." Neimi sulked a little more before it faded for a serious look. "Hey, you've been a bit off lately. Is everything okay?"

"Pardon?" I frowned, confused. No one else had mentioned anything, and I thought I'd been rather normal, considering everything. "Really?"

"Yeah. I only notice it during our practice, though. Its been taking you longer to sink into your calm since we fought the monsters." She leaned forward, studying my face, before smiling. "Say, you wouldn't happen to be in love, would you?"

"There's a thousand things going wrong, and romance is the first thing that comes to your mind?" Despite my retort, I felt my face heat up with a blush. "Seriously?"

"Well, you're expecting the things that are going wrong, and you seemed more frustrated, so I tried to think of the most unexpected thing?" She giggled, and I tried to figure out how that made sense. "But, you're blushing, so I know I'm right."

"That's not… I…" I groaned, facepalming. This was absolutely mortifying. "Fine, fine! Yes, I am! And I don't even know why!"

"Oh, I know that feeling." She giggled more, smiling kindly when I gave her a skeptical look. "You know exactly who I'm in love with. Colm, the one who teases me until I cry."

"That is very true, actually." I wanted to hold onto my annoyance, but her giggling just made me smile. "Why do you like him, actually?"

"Part of it is because I've known him since we were very little. He only became sharp tongued when his parents died in an accident." Neimi's smile softened to something both warm and pained, remembering her life in Lark. Before the war took Lark away. "The village more or less raised him, but he stayed mostly with my family. And though he's mean sometimes, he's also very caring. He's always looking out for me."

"He infiltrated a bandit stronghold for you."

"He did. He's always been like that. He's the only one allowed to make me cry, or so he likes to boast." Neimi shrugged. "You don't really get to pick who you fall in love with. Your heart does, and then you decide if it's a healthy relationship. Colm and I make it work for us. I can read his actions beyond the sharp words, and if he really hurts me, he apologizes instantly."

"That's… really mature." It also made my heart ache. Monica had said something similar, back when I had my first crushes. I wished she was here now. Gods knew I could use her gentle reassurance. "I hate to say I'm surprised, but we're how old now?"

"Well, days more or less blend together thanks to all the stress and battles, but providing a full year hasn't passed, then I'm still sixteen, and you're still seventeen." Neimi paused, glancing up at the clouds thoughtfully. "We should really figure out the date at some point. Just for fun."

"We should." Still, the origin of the topic made me squirm. "It's not obvious, right? That I'm…"

"No, I don't think so. I only guessed because of how it took you longer to calm down while practicing. Otherwise, you're mostly normal. Melancholic yet kind." She shrugged, smiling sweetly at me. I tried to think of why she'd describe me as that. "So, why did you fall in love with him? Think of that."

"Just randomly think of something?" I gave her another skeptical look, but she nodded, so I sighed. "Well…" I closed my eyes to think, but one thing came almost instantly. "He listens. He listens, and trusts me at my word, even when it seems like I'm being unreasonable."

"And?"

"And he's respectful, reassuring. Kind." I opened my eyes again to study the clouds and found myself remembering that first flight I'd taken him own. How boyish his smile had been. How lonely he admitted to feeling. Yet, he held onto some kindness. It was better than me. "Does what he thinks is right, but also doesn't make too many excuses when he's told why it might not have been the right thing to do, no matter how caustic the words are."

"And?"

"And he's very gentle." My hand automatically went towards my braid. He'd rebraided it for me after our spar earlier. "Caring."

"See? All good qualities!" Neimi winked and I reluctantly smiled. "Your heart decided those good qualities outweighed the bad, and so, fell in love. It's not your fault."

"I'd complain about falling in love during a war, but at the same time, I'm very much encouraging Natasha and Joshua, so I have no right to talk."

"I've seen a couple of other potential romances and watch with anticipation, so I can't either!"

"Others?"

"Yeah, but I'm keeping quiet for now. Just in case." She giggled. "Artur and I talked a bit about it, though. Romance during a war, and whether they were as realistic as the stories liked to treat them.

"And what did you say?"

"Well, he thinks it's because war brings out a person's true colors, good and bad. It's easy to be good and honorable when things are peaceful, but when it's not…" She shrugged. "I think I can agree."

"I think I can to, to a certain point, at least." Still, my smile faltered as my mind reminded me of one very huge problem with my feelings. "But, regardless, it's not going to happen."

"Why not?" Neimi pouted. "You're kind and strong. You may be a little reckless…" She squirmed when I gave her an amused look. "Okay, maybe more than a little reckless, but at the same time, it's only to protect people. You're also _really_ pretty."

"The problem has nothing to do with how desirable of a partner I might be." Honestly, I didn't really care how 'desirable' I was. If the problem was simply 'confessing', I'd find Ephraim right now and get it over with. There was no point in dragging it out with a 'oh, there was no way he could return my feelings'. But the problem was something a little more complicated, and not something I could just overcome with force of will. "Nothing at all."

"Really?" Neimi frowned. "Well, what is the-?"

Brynhildr, thankfully, saved me from having to explain, landing next to me to nuzzle my face. She had traces of blood on her mouth, but there was clear evidence that she at least tried to clean herself up before coming over. I appreciated that little thing, and I especially appreciated the comfort she radiated. She took one look at me and shifted to move her wing over me in a 'hug', likely noticing I did need that reassurance. She was the best, really.

"You're the silliest," I murmured, petting her face. She crooned and nuzzled me again. "But you're clearly a sign we need to return." I leaned out around Brynhildr's wing to look at Neimi. "Let's cut those arrows out of the trees."

"Yeah, sounds good," Neimi replied. She still frowned, likely not happy that I was seizing such an easy out. But she smiled warmly before long, accepting that I really just didn't want to elaborate yet. "Hey, what are we going to cook for dinner tonight?"

"We should probably try to mix it up for everyone, to try and lift their spirits. Then again, we're so low on rations..."

Neimi and I planned the menu for the next couple of days as we got our arrows out of the trees. Not once did she try to turn the conversation back to the original topic, and I was very grateful she let it drop. I hoped that, at some point, we'd go somewhere where we could easily get things to make dessert. I'd make her a whole damn cake for it.

* * *

After lunch, Ewan led us the rest of the way and we ended up outside a lonely yet lovely little wooden house tucked away among the trees and mountains. Ewan, Gerik, and Tethys walked in without knocking, while Marisa lingered just outside. After a while, they let Eirika, Ephraim, Innes, and Tana inside, with Seth helping Marisa stand guard at the door. The rest of us set up camp and relaxed, casually mingling, waiting to see if Saleh was here, and if he'd help us.

I watched them from a distance, curled up with Brynhildr. I smiled at those who looked at me, but didn't actually go approach anyone. It felt safer, and it was more comfortable. Now, if they started one of our traditional 'song and stories around the campfire' things, I'd join in. That was different. I couldn't even explain why it was, but it was. Maybe it was just the difference between 'being invited' and 'inserting yourself'. I didn't mind the former. The latter made me horrifically uncomfortable.

So, I just watched, observing everyone's interactions, and kept my distance. Joshua was gambling with Artur, for instance. Natasha wasn't far away, teaching L'arachel some of the finer points of staff work, and L'arachel listened with sparkling eyes. Kyle and Franz sparred, while Forde flirted with Vanessa nearby, to her blushing protests. Gilliam and Neimi were practicing glares, from what I could see, though I had no idea why. Moulder was scolding Colm, though apparently not for burning his pack. Ross and Amelia chatted, and I thought Ross might be trying to flirt, but Amelia's eyes would flit over towards Franz and she missed every attempt. Garcia and Dozla laughed over something I couldn't make out, smiling warmly at the younger ones in the group.

Everyone was busy. I didn't want to bother them. I didn't want to be awkward. So, I stayed back and watched. It was far, far more comfortable, and it wasn't like I was alone. I had Brynhildr, after all. I was fine, off to the side. I was fine.

"Emma, there you are!" Apparently, though, that wasn't enough for L'arachel. "What are you doing over here by yourself?" she asked, seizing my arm in a surprisingly tight grip. I looked around, wondering where the hell Natasha was, and saw her talking to Moulder while Colm snuck away to tease Neimi and attempt to prank Gilliam. "Goodness, you should be walking around being praised!"

"Praised for what?" I asked. I then yelped as L'arachel dragged me to my feet and started walking. "The hell?!"

"You should be getting praised for the absolutely wondrous meal you and Neimi made! It was lovely!"

"It was just a simple thing, really. We don't have the rations for fancy things."

"No, no, it was magnificent. I could eat it every day!" She smiled brightly at me before continuing to drag me. I looked back at Brynhildr and she gave me the most 'what is going on?' look I had ever seen a wyvern give. "You should be proud!"

"Fine, fine, I am proud." I tried to dig my heels, but couldn't manage it. "Where are you dragging me?"

"To the others, of course!" She gave me a confused look. "You need to receive your praises, like I said."

"Oh, hell no. No, no, and no!" I really dug my heels this time, actually breaking through the hard soil in the process and finally made her pause. "I neither need nor want that!"

"Why?" She turned to face me, eyes thoughtful and expression curious. "Is it not good to be praised for doing something well?"

"I'm not going to go around begging for it!" I tried to tug my arm from her grip, but seriously, she had a fiercer grip than any warrior I knew. "I like my quiet."

"Really? You looked incredibly lonely to me." She continued to look curious. "I know that some people prefer solitude, of course. But you truly looked lonely."

"I have Brynhildr." The sentence came out a little more fragile than I wanted or expected. I felt horrifically childish, and then irritated because I couldn't see why. Then I felt more irritated at the whole situation. "I was fine."

"Were you?"

"Yes!" I was just getting more and more irritated, probably irrationally so. No, definitely irrational. But I couldn't help it. "And even if I wasn't, I fail to see why it would be your problem!"

"I'm a healer, silly!" She smiled gently, either oblivious or uncaring at how annoyed I was. I couldn't decide which was worse. "You are also a comrade, and a friend. All of which demands that I make sure you're okay."

"I already am." I almost snapped that we weren't friends, but I bit my tongue in time. I wasn't that childish, yet, even if I wasn't quite sure why she'd call me friend. "There's no need to bother-"

"Why would you think you're a bother?" Now she frowned, but that curiosity was still there. She truly couldn't quite grasp it. "We're all comrades, friends. You and Joshua are essentially family in all but blood, and I have never seen anyone not at least give you a small smile. Even the ones you only speak to when passing out food."

"That's…" I didn't have an answer. I really didn't. I wasn't even sure _why_ I didn't have a reply. "Will you let go?"

"Oh, sorry!" She did and tucked her hands behind her. "But I am truly curious why you'd think you're a bother to anyone here, and why you seem insistent to keep your distance from anyone who doesn't come to you. You seem to enjoy the company of those that reach out. But why do you not reach back?"

"That's…"

"We've got our guide!" Twice in one day, someone came to my rescue to get me out of awkward conversations. This time, it was Gerrik, grinning as the group stepped out of Saleh's house. "Though, we're leaving in the morning," Gerik explained. Tethys was arguing with Ewan behind him, holding him by the collar. His pout, and insistence of trying to run away, made me wonder if he wanted to go ahead. "Path is even rougher ahead, so we need to rest. Plus, Saleh still has to gather some herbs for the village."

"Which we're going to split up to help him with," Eirika added brightly. She smiled kindly and gestured for everyone to stand. Innes looked annoyed, while Ephraim looked amused. Tana looked eager, bouncing on her toes. "Everyone, gather up!"

It was a bit of chaos then, mostly as everyone tried to thank Saleh, ask questions about the path, and try to figure out what herbs we needed to get, all at once. I ended up pushed to the side by their eagerness and, before long, Saleh actually ended up in the same place, hilariously enough. Though his expression was as stoic as before, there was a sense of exasperation about him, mostly by how he narrowed his eyes.

"Hello, again," I murmured, bowing my head slightly. He frowned slightly at me before his eyes lit up in recognition and he nodded back. "Myrrh is in Frelia's castle, if it didn't come up inside."

"Prince Ephraim told me, but I'm gladdened to hear it again," he replied. He looked at the crowd and sighed. "I asked for help for only two herbs. Just two."

"Yeah, sorry, we're a lively bunch." I was surprised by the amount of energy, though. It was like the tiredness of the previous days had simply melted away by the simple declaration of 'we will get help'. "What were the herbs?"

"They grow in the higher parts of the mountains, and it can be a difficult climb. I'd planned on collecting them across two or three days, but Prince Innes told me of how urgent this mission is."

"Do you have a picture? I've a wyvern." I smiled warmly. "I'll snag another of the fliers and go look for you."

"Thank you." He passed me a piece of paper, a copy from some sort of herb book based on how neat and ordered it was. "The picture is rudimentary, but the description is there."

"I'm sure I'll be able to find it." I looked again at the crowd. They were eagerly splitting off into groups. "You might just want to stand to the side and just let them do their thing at this point. Who suggested all of them helping?"

"Princess Eirika, though Princess Tana was quick to agree and got the others to go along with the idea."

"Then yeah, just go have a good chat with Gerik or something. She is probably the most stubborn person in the army, though well-meaning, and Tana is almost as stubborn."

"I suppose I must. I know better than to change the flow of a river."

"Right. Be back soon."

I darted around the side of the crowd and managed to snatch Tana before she joined a group. I quickly explained what I was doing, and she leapt at the chance to help out, so before long, we were flying among the mountains, landing and carefully checking the list to make sure we grabbed the right herbs.

"Ah, it's so peaceful!" Tana exclaimed at one point. We were far away from the others, to the point that we barely caught their echoes of laughter. "We definitely got the best job. We're the luckiest!"

"The only other one who could've taken it was Vanessa," I pointed out. I looked through the paper Saleh had given me, determining that we were almost done. We just needed two more handfuls of thorny mallow. "Dozla might be good at rock climbing, but there were some sheer cliffs under where we flew."

"True." Still, she held out her arms and spun, laughing. "It's a shame the whole world can't be peaceful like this."

"I'm fairly certain that quite a few would get bored before long." I had to admit the tranquility was comforting, though, considering how chaotic this war was. "Your Achaeus is looking at you like you're insane."

"No, he isn't!" She skipped over to hug her pegasus, laughing as he lipped her arm. "I know you want a treat. But later, silly. We're in the middle of something."

"I'd offer Brynhildr's, but Brynhildr might get mad." I laughed as Brynhildr playfully growled behind me. "And, you know, her treats tend to be meat."

"Achaeus won't stomach that!" She continued to giggle, smiling at me. "It's okay to relax, you know. You'll suffer if you don't."

"We're in the middle of something, as you just said."

"Boo." She made a face, and I just had to laugh again. "Oh, right, there's been something I've been wondering. Just for the past couple of days, but I'd like to ask before I forget again."

"Is that so?" I began walking down the rough path, keeping an eye on the plants. Thorny mallow was hard to find, which was why Saleh had wanted us to grab a lot. "What is it?"

"I still have a question, right?"

"You… huh?" It took me a full second to remember what she meant. "Oh, right! Wow, I haven't had that come up in a while." I'd completely forgotten.

"You're not quite as 'I am going to stab you with words'." She giggled, and I smiled back, accepting the scolding. "But, do you mind if I go with it now?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you love Ephraim?" She said the words lightly, but there was a great deal of seriousness to them. She smiled, but her eyes held a little fear, and a little pain. For my part, I was just completely stunned. "That's my question."

"I…" I tried to figure out how to answer. My mouth dried up as I attempted to string together words. I hated it, but I wasn't surprised. The last time I got so tongue-tied was when I realized I was in love with Jacob, which felt forever ago. But, finally, I found my voice again. "Yes, I think so." I smiled bitterly, feeling the overwhelming urge to just laugh at my idiocy. "You are free to mock me on my horrible taste in men."

"Well, I'd mock myself with that. I love him too." Again, she said the words lightly, but they shook slightly. "Though, I already know my feelings are unrequited. He certainly likes me, but I don't think he'll ever 'love' me, romantically." She shrugged, still smiling, but there was pain to it. "So, you know..."

"You don't have to force yourself to smile, Tana, especially around me."

"I like smiling, though. It lets me think I'm not letting my sadness, or the world's cruelty, win." She did let it fade a bit. "But yeah, I thought so. About you loving him, I mean. I wanted to be sure, though."

"That is the second time, today, someone has asked me about my love life." I shivered, feeling cold suddenly. "Is it camp gossip or something?"

"No, not at all. I just…" She trailed off, frowning slightly. "I can't think of how to say this without sounding like a stalker."

"You pay more attention to him because you love him." I shrugged. "Monica and Orson were the same with each other. I'm told my parents were too, when Dad was alive."

"Right, and you're near him a lot. So, I don't think anyone else has really noticed. I just… well…" She groaned, facepalming. "This sounds so wrong."

"I think I get it." Though, I clearly needed to be careful on how I acted around Ephraim. That said, if I was too obvious about that, then I'd obviously be hiding something. No way to win, really. "At the least, I know there's no malice to it. It's you."

"Thank you!" She breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled again. Again, there was pain, but I could see the genuine warmth in it. "Anyway, now that I know, I highly encourage you to act on it!"

"Huh?" I gaped at her. "You're what."

"What? I mean; you're my friend. You like him. If you want some childhood stories, I'll totally tell!" She became thoughtful suddenly. "Oh, wait, are you expecting me to be mad and sabotage or something?"

"Tana, you're way too nice and mature for that. Though, you being like 'I want you to succeed' when you just admitted you loved him too is a little…"

"But they're unrequited. I already know I have no chance." She smiled again, and there was more pain than warmth in it. "I mean; I could confess, but honestly, I can see the writing on the walls. There's no point in it. He'd probably mistake the confession for something else anyway." Her smile gained a bit more warmth to it. "However, I think you have a chance, so, I highly encourage! I want all my friends to be happy, after all! More than I want to be successful in my own love life, I mean. Soooo, yeah!"

"I… right…" I wanted to smile. I was genuinely touched, and no small part of me felt giddy over her thinking 'I had a chance'. But a certain dread filled me instead, and so, I couldn't. Because there was a problem and, unfortunately, it was one without fixing. "That's…"

"Hey, what's wrong?" She skipped over and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Is it because I piled all of this at once?"

"No, it's not. Not exactly, at least." I glanced at Brynhildr and Achaeus, half-hoping I'd get another convenient save. But Achaeus was grazing, and Brynhildr was napping. No more saves today, it seemed. "Tana, there's a problem."

"There is?"

"Yes, and it's the fact that Ephraim will be king." I spoke slowly, less for her to understand and more that I didn't really want to admit it. But running away wasn't going to make it go away. "So, anyone he marries will be queen. Anyone he courts will be stuck amidst politics and nobles and a whole bunch of other complications." I shook my head, and reached up to rub my temple. I had a headache coming on. "Which I don't like, and don't want. I don't want to be queen. I don't want to be the center of attention."

"Even if you love him?"

"Love isn't enough for everything, Tana." I looked away, not wanting to see the genuine concern on her face. I felt miserable now, and I could almost laugh at how pathetic this was. I much preferred running away, but I couldn't. Not when Tana asked. "Sometimes, love is only a shackle to be carried about." Love, sometimes, was only a catalyst for insanity.

"But love is…"

"It's many things. But they don't make his duty go away." I knelt down and began examining the herbs at my feet. None were what we were looking for, but I fussed anyway. "So, is this one of the ones Saleh asked for? I can't tell."

Tana tried to turn the conversation back to the original topic a few times, but each time, I firmly asked if we were finding the herbs and eventually, she gave up. I was glad for it. There wasn't anything more to discuss. No matter how much I loved Ephraim, or how fast I was falling, or whatever… I didn't want to be queen. When all this was over, I wanted to go back to a semi-quiet life. It would never be fully quiet, I could never give up the bonds I'd already made, but I'd stay out of the public eye as much as I could.

I was a very simple girl with no head or heart for war and politics. I wasn't sure I wanted to sacrifice that simplicity, just to be with him.

* * *

Tana and I gathered the herbs, and I spent the rest of the day pretending absolutely nothing was wrong, keeping a smile on my face. I managed to fool most of the army, but I caught a couple giving me concerned looks, like Joshua and Tethys. And Eirika, though she waited until morning to bring it up.

"You were tossing all night," Eirika murmured. She was helping me get Brynhildr ready for today's march. "I'd say nightmares, except we've been too tired to dream recently. Did that change for you?"

"No, though I'm surprised you noticed," I replied. I tried to focus more on securing Brynhildr's saddle than her but, unfortunately, I was too skilled at it nowadays. "Normally, you're out for the whole night."

"Normally, you don't toss." She rested a hand on mine to prevent me from fussing over the buckles. "What's wrong? You've clearly had something on your mind."

"It's…" I almost laughed when I saw the stubborn light in her eyes. I wouldn't be able to get away with 'nothing'. She'd keep after me, and I couldn't lie to her that easily. "Later. When things aren't quite so crowded."

"Okay." She smiled, accepting that. I just hoped I could figure out how to explain it to her. "And Brynhildr is all ready to go!" Eirika giggled, patting Brynhildr on the nose. "You think I can fly on her?"

"Normally, I'd be all for it, but you've been having difficulties with the thinning air. You try to hide it, but I've noticed."

"Aw…" She sulked, but sighed, nodding. "Yeah, many of us are. And, worse, it seems Caer Pelyn is even higher."

"When we're at a lower elevation, like Jehanna, I'll take you flying. But until then, let's try to keep you from passing out."

"Right…" She made a face, but I simply smiled. "That just sucks." She sulked a moment longer before smiling suddenly. "Oh, Ephraim!"

"Hey, sorry to interrupt girl time or whatever." Ephraim appeared out of nowhere, and I nearly yelped. Then I nearly squirmed because, well… I felt awkward. And self-conscious. "Surprised Brynhildr didn't growl when I walked up," he commented, frowning. "Is she feeling okay?"

"She's perfectly fine," I replied, leaning into her. Brynhildr reached around to lick my cheek. "I imagine she's just so happy to be near Eirika that she's decided to tolerate you."

"So, one step closer to getting another flight!" He grinned, and I had to laugh, relaxing. "Perfect!"

"Well, I've got a guaranteed one once we're in Jehanna," Eirika teased. She stuck her tongue out at him when he playfully sulked. "I win!"

"Yes, yes, like usual," Ephraim complained. He ruffled her hair and looked to me. "Okay, two things."

"Yes?"

"Well, they're both to Emma, but we _can_ address one thing to you." He pointed to my hair, which was in a messy braid. "You suck at braiding."

"Sure, interrupt my lovely talk with my best friend and insult me." Eirika huffed, and tried to use that to hide her embarrassed blush. "And I have to practice to get better, you know."

"That braid is going to fall out within thirty seconds of her flying on Brynhildr. And it's bothering me." Ephraim focused on me again. "So, first thing, can I _please_ fix it?"

"Yeah, sure," I laughed, unable to really help it. It was just ridiculous to see them 'arguing' over braids. "What's the second thing?"

"The second thing is that I really do need to give you Myrrh's gift," he replied, slipping behind me to undo and redo my braid. "Your hair is tangled."

"Tethys has already threatened to brush it later today." I remained too tired and annoyed by it to deal with brushing it myself. "L'arachel begged Eirika to let her brush her hair too."

"Eirika's hair tangles whenever she just moves."

"Unlike yours, where you can go through five battles and there's nothing but maybe some muck in it," Eirika grumbled. She crossed her arms and sulked, watching him braid. "Why are you so good at that?"

"Because you hated people touching your hair when we were little, but you wanted pretty braids like Mother," Ephraim reminded her. Just as before, he sounded like he was having fun. "So, you made me learn."

"I didn't make you do anything. You _gladly_ learned!"

"For your sake!" Ephraim laughed. "Anyway, I mentioned to Emma that maybe we could get feathers or beads to braid into her hair."

"Oh, that would be really pretty!"

"That's what I thought."

"I'm right here, you two," I reminded, biting back another laugh. Brynhildr looked curious at all of us before settling down again. "The others must be looking at us like we're insane."

"Well, we are insane, so it's perfectly accurate," Ephraim pointed out. He tied off the braid and brought it over my shoulder before holding up a beautiful necklace with a red gem. "And this is Myrrh's gift."

"Really?" I took it carefully, studying it. There was a strange warmth to it, but something comforting nonetheless. "It's pretty."

"She called it a talisman. It's supposedly helps you ward off magic."

"It does?" I gave him a dubious look. It seemed to small for that. "Huh."

"I don't know if it actually works, but I told her that I'd give it to you." He grinned and I smiled back, acknowledging the point. "Anyway, that was more or less it, unless Eirika wants to talk to Seth for me."

"No, because this is tactics, and you're better at that than anyone, save Innes," Eirika retorted. She rolled her eyes, and smiled. "If you don't want to do your job, push it on him."

"He's trying to convince Tana to head back, again," Ephraim replied. He shrugged and Eirika facepalmed. "He's doing a poor job. I think he's actually firing her up even more."

"You should help him."

"With giving up? You're out here too, remember?" He gave her a quick hug and Eirika just snickered. "I think we'll be marching soon."

"Then I'll see you soon." Eirika waved as Ephraim walked away before looking over the others. I watched Ephraim leave longer than necessary before quickly mimicking her to try and hide it. "Let's see… does anyone need help?"

"At this point, we're all old hands at getting ready," I reminded her. Honestly, from the bits I could see in the crowd, it was Amelia who had the most trouble getting ready. Well, her and L'arachel, but Dozla took care of everything for L'arachel. Amelia got help from Franz, Neimi, and Natasha. I did look for Saleh, just in case, but he was talking calmly with Gerik and Tethys, clearly ready to be off. "But if you want to jump into the crowd, don't hold back on my account."

"You could just jump in with me, you know," she pointed out. She frowned slightly at me. "Then again, you always pull away whenever it seems like people are grouped up unless we drag you."

"That's…" I had no reply. Just as with L'arachel, I had no reply to that. "Um…"

"It's okay." But Eirika smiled gently, expression warm. "I think I know why. You've lost a lot, and you're scared to lose more. It's why you're fighting in the first place, right? It's not like say, with me, where I'm fighting to reclaim Renais and because I feel like it's my duty. You fight to protect the few you have left."

"Selfish goal, huh?"

"Hard to say. One can argue that putting yourself in danger to keep loved ones safe is selfless. Just as one can argue reclaiming a country that you should've protected in the first place is simply a selfish desire to fix a mistake. I think it's a combination of both. After all, humans are complex." Her smile warmed, yet also became a bit resigned. "Besides, while I could argue that I have a choice to fight, really, I don't. I have an obligation, and I choose to not run from that. That's not really a choice. It's just going along with what's expected. But no one expects a simple village girl to pick up a weapon and fight in a war."

"They do when drafting happens." I just had to correct her on that, mostly because of how embarrassed I felt. "And I think you're putting yourself down too much, Eirika. It might be your 'duty' to fight, but you had other ways you could've done so. You could've calmed refugees, for instance, to give them hope. You could've rallied the nobles, and use Innes's spies to help ferret out pockets on resistance within Renais's borders. But you choose to fight the enemy head-on, simply because you have ordered others to do the same and you will not leave them alone. That's really cool."

"You're going to make me blush."

"Retaliation for the blush I know I'm wearing. You think better of me than I am."

"I owe you my life, if you'll recall. Many times, actually." She giggled. "And, besides, you're either your worst critic or your best, and there's no in-between. You and I are both the former."

"Do we even have any of the latter?" Even as I asked the question, I had my answer. "Never mind. L'arachel."

"She's certainly lively, isn't she?" Eirika laughed outright when I groaned. "Oh, dear. Too much for you?"

"I'm sure I'll get used to her. Or avoid her. Whichever ends up happening." I might've continued, but I noticed Brynhildr suddenly tense and frowned. "Brynhildr? Brynhildr, what is it?" Brynhildr barely paid me any mind. She hunkered down and growled, eyes fixed to the mountains to the south. Dread pooled in my stomach as I turned to look, and at first, I saw nothing. But then I looked up, to the clouds, and caught sight of wings.

Grado's wyvern riders had found us.

There was a lot of shouting as people desperately tried to get ready for an attack. My immediate reaction was to snag Ewan and shove him into Saleh's house, before finding Moulder, Natasha, and L'arachel to do the same. I watched as quite a few of the knights brought their shields up, just in case, and shifted the lesser armored ones behind them. I thought about maybe trying to get a few up in the air, or take to the skies myself to see if Brynhildr could intimidate any of them, but I rejected those plans when I counted fifteen wyvern riders. Brynhildr was strong, but these ones had to have more experience fighting.

Still, I did push my way back to Brynhildr, mostly to be easier to find when someone, Innes or Ephraim or Seth, started giving out instructions for the battle. I found Eirika was still there, though, and she was staring at Brynhildr, studying her. Then, just before I could call her name, Eirika nodded sharply and strode through the crowd, pushing her way to the front just as a very familiar wyvern knight landed right in front of her. General Glen looked at her impassively, and I almost screamed something, before I saw Eirika look at Brynhildr again and only then stepped forward to meet him. I wondered why, but then I did the same and found my answer. Brynhildr was tense, wary, but _not_ prepped for an attack for once. She recognized the potential for danger, but didn't think there was one. Eirika saw that. And even with Eirika being within range, supposedly within danger, Brynhildr's demeanor didn't change. She didn't stop me from getting my lance off her saddle, but she didn't prepare for a fight.

"General Glen, it's been a while," Eirika murmured. She kept her voice even, and her posture elegant. She held up a hand to stop someone I couldn't see from joining her, gaze fixed firmly on General Glen. "I would say I am pleased, but considering the circumstances…"

"Yes, I am afraid I'm here under direct orders of Emperor Vigarde," General Glen replied. He had no weapon in hand, but his wyvern did hunker down slightly. His fellows kept their distance, some on the ground and the rest in the air. "According to him, you and your brother have been stirring chaos in Carcino, massacring innocents in Port Kiris among other things."

"And what explanation does he give for that?"

"Something about madness and revenge for your home's fall, I believe." He looked over the rest of us impassively. No small few of us had weapons out. In fact, Ephraim was probably the only one who wasn't armed, which surprised me. But his attention was solely on his sister, and in keeping a restraining hand on Innes's arm, preventing him from firing. I could almost hear their silent argument, even from where I was, off to the side. "You do seem to have a small army under your command."

"Emphasis on 'small'. At most generous, we number only twenty-seven. If I recall my brother's ramblings correctly, we'd be classified as platoon. Barely." Eirika met General Glen's gaze firmly and easy. "As for Port Kiris, it was mercenaries and bounty hunters. We left as soon as we could to try and minimize damage to the civilians there. I will not deny some dramatics and fighting, but that was only because we saw a child was at risk."

"Did you now?" General Glen's full attention was on Eirika now. His wyvern, however, growled when a couple others tried to approach despite Eirika's silent order. "Keep your distance. Itroph is protective."

"And it's folly to believe one can _order_ a wyvern, yes?"

"Correct." A ghost of a smile flitted across his face before he became serious again. "Port Kiris's massacre, however, is only part of what I have heard, concerning your recent actions. The rest of it hints you attempted to kill one of Carcino's leaders for your own gain, and fanning the flames of civil war in the peaceful kingdom."

"If our own 'gain' means protecting Innes, then I suppose that is true. Though, we do not seek war. This was supposed to be a stealth mission, after all." Eirika shrugged, still perfectly poised. It was rather fascinating to watch. "I'm surprised you found us, though. We're quite off the normal path."

"You are indeed, so I assumed you found another path through the mountains. It's child's play to organize a dragnet when you command the skies." He smiled slightly. "I lost a few scouts, but the giant fire gave your location away pretty easily."

"…A 'few' scouts?" Eirika frowned, while many others squirmed, myself among them. We'd known burning the ruins would've given us away. But, we couldn't afford an ambush from behind. Not from monsters. "I will admit to knowing of _one_ , but unless your scouts were assassins sent to kill us in the middle of the night, that was the only one we killed."

"Really? I assumed Emma and Brynhildr dealt with them."

"She killed one. Just one. Or, to be more accurate, Brynhildr did, and Emma gave the rider a mercy kill." Eirika's gaze hardened. "Though, I'm sure it's hard to believe. You only have my words. I have nothing else to back them up. But we have a mission and a goal. I'd prefer we'd part on peaceful terms, General Glen. I choose that path whenever it's available. But if you force us into battle, then we will show you how bad of an idea that is."

"…Ha…" General Glen's smile grew and he actually laughed. His entire demeanor relaxed, but it was eerie."So much hardship, yet it seems your spirit remains the same as ever, Princess Eirika."

"You believe me, then?" Eirka also relaxed, smiling. "I'm gladdened to hear that."

"It's a very strange conundrum for me. I have never known Emperor Vigarde to lie, yet at the same time, I do find it hard to believe you are guilty of these crimes. You and Prince Ephraim are well known in Grado, and were very well liked." General Glen shrugged. "Duessel and I have long questioned the wisdom of this war. With so many questions, it's hard to say if an order is 'correct' to follow for the sake of the country I am sworn to serve."

"So, you'll leave."

"I will, this time. I wanted to see if there would be answers or more questions. This encounter has provided the latter, sadly, and so, I must find my answers elsewhere. From my emperor." General Glen's eyes hardened. "Though, if I find you're lying, I will hound you to the grave and beyond, if only for my prince's sake. He worries terribly for you and Prince Ephraim both."

"Please, let him know we worry for him too, if you can?"

"If I can. Emperor Vigarde keeps Prince Lyon close nowadays." General Glen settled back in his saddle, and his wyvern relaxed. "A well done show, though, Princess Eirika. It's very brave to take a gamble and talk to an enemy."

"It's less of a gamble than you think." Eirika smiled sweetly, laughing even. "Brynhildr likes me almost as much as she likes Emma, yet even when I'm right within range of your wyvern, she does not lunge. She even keeps back."

"Brynhildr would know my Itroph well. He taught her how to fly and how to fight, same as Genarog." His gaze flicked over to where Brynhildr and I were before returning to Eirika. "The sun sets faster this time of year. You'd best hurry if you want to cover decent ground."

"We will, once you're a little further back, General Glen," Ephraim said, letting go of Innes to join Eirika. "Maybe out of arrow range? Duessel always says to retreat from an enemy only when you're certain you're out of range of their arrows."

"That he does," General Glen agreed. He nodded politely to Ephraim. "I'm surprised I didn't have to deal with even token arrows."

"Eirika stepped up as Innes was lining a shot. I figured I'd trust her and stopped him."

"I thank you, as an arrow to the throat is a rather painful experience."

"I'm sure. Arrows are very annoying like that."

"They are." General Glen tugged on his reins and Itroph leapt back before flapping his wings and taking to the air to move further away. "But you had best be going."

"We will. Tell Lyon Eirika and I are always his friends, will you?"

"If I see him."

"Thank you." Ephraim turned to the others. Some of them were wary, others were fine, but most of the older ones had a 'you have got to be kidding me' look. I didn't blame any of them. "Let's get moving, people. Before the nice general changes his mind."

I waited for some to pass before mounting up and strapping myself into the saddle. As soon as I did, Brynhildr took to the air, but she didn't follow immediately. Instead, she arced around to swing close to General Glen and Itroph. Itroph crooned when she came close, and Brynhildr happily growled back.

"You know; she wasn't nearly as happy last time we saw you," I pointed out, amused. General Glen laughed, clearly feeling the same. "Is it because last time, I was bleeding out?"

"Likely. I know Itroph refuses to be friendly if I'm hurt," he replied. He studied us both, smiling. "You really do fly well. There's some Frelian in the seating, though."

"Syrene taught me a bit. It's not like I've a lot of options to learn flying from."

"True." His smile grew. "You were never a mercenary, were you? I apologize for that assumption."

"I wasn't complaining. It was useful for not being captured and questioned."

"Very true. And I would've, as my job dictates." He nodded to Brynhildr. "You should really get some armor for her, though, like what Itroph wears."

"Yes, because there's bunches lying about, free for the taking." I made my voice as dry as possible and he laughed. "Well, if I see some dead wyvern riders, maybe I'll take it off their corpses or something."

"Maybe." He continued laughing. "On with you, though. They'll need you to scout."

"Right. Let's go, Brynhildr." I tugged her reins and she playfully flew around General Glen and Itroph before following the others. When I glanced back, he was still laughing and raised a hand in farewell.

I waved back before focusing forward. He was right in that I'd need to scout for the others, so I tugged Brynhildr up and above to do a high-patrol, knowing Vanessa and Tana would be patrolling the left and right flanks. Just because this worked out didn't mean we didn't make a monumentally stupid mistake in letting them get close in the first place.

* * *

We made it as far as we could before the sun set, but it was clear fairly quickly that this was going to be a slow trip. Saleh had not been joking on how rough the path was and some parts of the path skirted the edges of very long drops. I took to flying over the drop, just in case someone fell, a good thing when Ross tried to keep Lute from falling on her face and almost fell _off_. Thankfully, he was the only one who got that close to death, and Lute even apologized for being too distracted by studying the flora around us. Of course, we had a few others trip and twist their ankles. Gilliam, surprisingly, was one of them, and actually had to ride with Vanessa until we found a safe place to make camp for the night, among a stretch of hard soil and loose rocks.

"It's going to be a couple more days like this," Eirika sighed, drying off her hair. Nightly baths were just the habit nowadays. Anything to get the dirt and sweat off. "I'm really glad Tethys shares her soaps and that all the Jehannans share their perfumes. I love smelling nice."

"It's the best, right?" I laughed, trying to wriggle into the bedroll without causing my sleeping pants to fall off. I'd jokingly asked Joshua if he had spares just in case we were ambushed 'again', and he'd happily lent me a couple of his spare sleep-clothes. He wasn't much bigger than me, but it was enough to make the pants fall on my hips and for the shirt to be baggy. "If things are calm enough, we can buy some in Jehanna."

"I'd love that. I'd love to have a simple shopping trip. Pretend the world's fate doesn't rest on our shoulders."

"Might be nice."

"Yeah." We exchanged a look and both just burst into laughter. It wasn't really a 'fun' laughter, though. We were just laughing at the ridiculousness of pretending all of this away, even for a brief moment. Sometimes, you could only laugh. "Anyway, it's later. Will you tell me what's wrong now?"

"Now that's a strange jump in conversation." Still, I calmed down and sighed, brushing my hair behind my ear. I knew I couldn't run forever. "Well, Eirika, I seem to have, somehow, fallen in love with your twin."

"You have?!" Eirika's expression lit up with a bright-bright smile, far brighter than I would've thought. She even leaned forward with eager eyes. "When did you figure it out? How long?"

"Recently, and hell if I know how long." I almost laughed at how excited she looked. "Especially considering how low I thought of him not all that long ago!"

"I know, right?" She giggled, letting the towel just drape over her shoulders and down her back, rather like her cape. "Hee, that's so…" She trailed off, her smile falling. "Oh, but the whole reason I asked what was going on is because of how…"

"Yeah." I sighed, drawing my knees to my chest. I gave up trying to get into the bedroll. "It's not exactly that I feel bad about the feelings or anything, though. I mean; I'm confused as to when and why, sort of. But I can acknowledge they're there. That's not the problem."

"It's because he's going to be king, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I rested my chin on my knees, and looked at her. "That's the big problem. Regardless of whether or not he returns my feelings, if I'm not willing to be queen, then it's just going to be miserable for both of us."

"Right." She frowned slightly in thought. "Well, I won't go into things like 'Oh, but you will be a good queen'. For one thing, while I think you can learn, it would take some effort. You're not good at listening to people's flattery for one."

"I will also call people on their bullshit."

"Very true. Besides, none of that matters if you don't want to be queen in the first place." She shifted to sit right next to me, bumping her shoulder against mine, smiling gently. "I understand and, unfortunately, I can't help with that, can I?"

"Not really. I mean, maybe later, if I just tangle this all in my head and I need someone to listen. But…"

"But the problem isn't 'fixable'. It's a 'do you love him, or can you love him, enough to make the sacrifice' and there's no way to avoid it. To be with him is to be queen. There is no compromising."

"Right, and he damn well better do his job and be king." I'd make him if he tried to run from it. "Thanks, though." I managed a smile for her. "For understanding so quickly. It makes me feel a little less... I don't know. Ridiculous."

"I told you once, I think, that I never wanted to be queen, either. I would've become Lyon's queen, perhaps, but only his."

"What do you think now?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Her smile faltered. "I'd have to see him again. I'd have to rebuild that trust. I do still love him, but I have no idea how this war will change either of us, and honestly, I don't know if it's a 'real' love anymore or something I cling to because it's something of my old life."

"I understand." This war was changing everything. I imagine that if Orson hadn't gone mad, I'd be clinging to him with everything I had. "We should probably shelve the topic for now. Until both of us feel up for talking about it again."

"Of course. And, I promise to not tease you about Ephraim. After all, you're careful to not tease me about Lyon."

"Yeah." It felt wrong, with everything going on. "In the morning, we should do something with Tana."

"Yes, that sounds good. She… well…"

"I know. And she knows. She's also very certain her feelings are unrequited."

"They are. I've known for a while." Eirika grimaced. "But, I never… you know…"

"It's not something you can just _say_ to a friend."

"Right." Eirika's expression softened. "For now, though, let's try to sleep."

"We should." But as I tried to slip into my bedroll again, I noticed something odd. There was noise behind the tent and, since it didn't involve Brynhildr growing and snapping, that meant it was Brynhildr herself. "The hell?" Confused, I stepped out of the tent, Eirika following me closely, and skirted around to the back. And yelped when I saw the movements had been _Brynhildr preparing to fly_.

"This isn't like her!" Eirika yelped, helping me try to pin one of the wings to keep Brynhildr from taking off. It nearly earned her a black eye. "I mean… I haven't seen her…"

"Same here!" I replied. We managed to get the wing down, but Brynhildr started growling. I winced and looked worriedly to Vanessa and Tana's tent. Both had to be asleep by now, but… "I'm getting her out of camp before she wakes people up."

"Be careful." Eirika clasped her hands together in front of her, frowning. "Maybe she sensed something?"

"Maybe." I smiled wanly and nearly yelped as Brynhildr tossed her head and nearly headbutted my jaw. "Ugh… Brynhildr, of all the times…!"

I tugged Brynhildr slowly away from the camp, uneasiness flooding me as she growled and thrashed under my hand. A couple of times she nearly knocked me to the ground and then there was one terrifying moment where I had my arms around her neck, and she nearly took up with me still dangling. I think she only landed because I accidentally kicked her in the throat when I tried to at least get on her back. Even then, her landing knocked me off of her and I fell flat on my back. I had to bite back a scream as Brynhildr's claw landed _right_ next to my head, and I could only stare up in shock as she continued to growl and thrash. She didn't even seem to notice…

"Brynhildr?" I called. Nothing. "Brynhildr." Still nothing. I flinched as she shifted and her claw dug into the dirt next to my head. I should try to get up, but really, none of this made sense. She'd never done anything like this before. "Brynhildr, it's Emma. You're hurting me."

That actually did finally get a reaction, and she looked down at me, almost confused. Then, after a long moment, she crooned and leaned down to nuzzle my cheek. I slowly sat up and she continued to nuzzle me, crooning and whimpering. She shifted to fold her wings around me protectively, but she held herself stiffly. She was still prepared to launch herself in the air. She was simply just also trying to apologize to me.

"Can you at least wait for me to get a saddle on you?" I hugged her tightly, not sure what was going on. "Please?" I nearly teared up when she nodded. "Okay. Let's… let's do that."

I stood up carefully, brushing the dirt off my sleeping pants, and led her to where we stored the saddles. She fidgeted and twitched as I tried to buckle her saddle on, lengthening the time it normally took to get it on her. I wondered if I could convince her to let me change clothes, or get weapons, but she was far too restless. I knew, as soon as I looked away, she'd take off. She was giving me a chance, but there was no way I could stop her.

"What are you doing?" Of course, that's when someone approached. Ephraim, clearly on watch again, walked up with a glower. "We're in the middle of unknown territory," he said slowly. Part of me bristled at the patronizing tone. The rest flinched because I knew this was stupid. This was beyond stupid. "And you're saddling up Brynhildr. Without letting anyone know."

"I… that's…" I tried to protest. But I really had no argument. "There's no need to speak slowly. I'm fully aware of the potential danger."

"And yet, you're doing it anyway."

"I don't think you can say anything about being reckless." I held onto the saddle as I noticed Brynhildr fidgeting more. "Considering…"

"Even I didn't go alone!" He stopped right in front of me, posture rigid as he glowered. I wanted to glower back, but I knew I was in the wrong here. I knew this was stupid.

"I'm not alone. I have Brynhildr." Honestly, I only retorted because I couldn't ever keep my mouth shut. I could never just 'keep silent'. "Would you just trust me?"

"If it was just a question of trusting you, I'd be helping you saddle her up. It's our enemies I don't trust, Emma, and-!" Ephraim jumped when Brynhildr suddenly growled and he helped wrapped his arms around me to keep me grounded as Brynhildr tried to take off with me still holding onto her saddle. "What the hell?!"

I flinched as the buckles bit into my hands and desperately tried to calm her down. "Brynhildr, please!" My hands scrabbled over her neck, and I yelped as she almost headbutted me in her thrashing. Ephraim reached around me to grab the saddle, letting me focus on trying to calm her. It barely worked; she was tired of waiting. "I know; I know! Please, just calm down! Ephraim's just worrying! He cares about us, and he doesn't want us hurt!" I breathed a sigh of relief when she growled, but slowly did go back to simple fidgeting and grumbling. "I know… I know…" I actually didn't, but what else could I say?

Ephraim rested his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently. "She was about to take off without you." His voice was soft, and shook a little. "She almost flew with you just clinging to her."

"Yeah. That's the second time. I don't know what's going on, but…" My voice cracked and, to my intense embarrassment, tears of frustration pricked my eyes. "Please?" I twisted to face him. A very small, very quiet, part noted that I was definitely close enough to kiss him. But this was definitely not the time. "Please, let me go with her? I don't know what's going on, but…"

"…Let me get someone to go with _you_." He closed his eyes, squeezing my shoulders. "I'm on watch and I have to be here in case there's an emergency, but let me get someone who can go with you, and I'll snag you a lance. Just in case"

"Thank you."

"I'm not sure you should be thanking me for this." He opened his eyes and leaned around to snatch Brynhildr's reins, dragging her down so he could glare right at her. "And since this is your fault, I expect you keep Emma _perfectly_ safe." Brynhildr growled in response, but he didn't even twitch. "This is incredibly dangerous and stupid. Even I wouldn't do this. So you're going to agree to keep her safe, or I swear I will find some way to pin you to the ground." He kept up the glare until Brynhildr looked away, and only then did he let go of the reins. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." I smiled at him. "Sorry."

"This isn't your fault." He left then, and I stared after him for a moment before returning to Brynhildr. I struggled to keep her calm, and at one point, I had to dodge her claw. At first, I was horrified she was attacking me, but then realized she was more attempting to awkwardly scoop me up into the saddle, to leave before Ephraim returned. She also tried her thing of 'take off while I was dangling', but I managed to dig my heels in enough to make her not go too far. Barely. This was nuts.

"Holy hell, Ephraim, you weren't kidding that Brynhildr was agitated." Thankfully, though, Joshua appeared then, at a run, with Ephraim close behind. "Damn, what's got her riled?" he asked, securing his sheathe on his belt. He must've put it on along the way. "Okay, let's get up and you can explain what we know."

"The answer is that we know nothing," I replied. I smiled in relief, though, and took the lance Ephraim offered. "Thank you two. I'm sorry for this."

"Petal, Brynhildr is normally very keen on keeping you safe, and hates being far away from you, yet here we go with her ready to take off with or without you." Joshua shrugged and brushed his hair behind his ear. He wasn't wearing his hat. "Let me get up first, just in case."

"Yeah." I winced as Brynhildr growled. "Yeah."

Eyeing Brynhildr warily, Joshua climbed up in the saddle, nearly falling when Brynhildr shifted quickly but managing to get settled. I climbed on after and yelped as Brynhildr almost took off before I could secure myself with the straps. Ephraim, however, snatched the reins to hold her until I could do so.

"Please, come back safely," he whispered, resting a hand on my knee. It was warm. "Promise."

"We will," I replied. I checked the buckles and secured the lance to the saddle. "Eirika's up. Can you-?"

"I'll let her know."

"Thank you."

He let go of the reins then, and Brynhildr took off with enough force to nearly knock him over. Joshua had to hold onto my midsection tightly to keep on, and I had to bend forward to keep from headbutting Joshua in the face. I looked down, worriedly, and saw Ephraim watching us leave with a look of forlorn worry. I made sure to smile before he was simply too small to properly see. It was all I could really do, at this point.

"I'm really sorry for this, Joshua," I said once the camp was out of sight. I winced as the cold wind blasted me. I was not dressed for this. Not one bit. "You were probably asleep…"

"Actually, I was talking with Natasha," he explained. He leaned against my back, peering down. "But it had reached a good stopping point, so this was rather well timed."

"Oh, seriously?" I groaned, fighting the urge to curse. "I even encouraged her to talk to you."

"We did. But it was at a point we needed to stop, but neither of us really knew how to walk away." Joshua shrugged and kissed the top of my head. "Relax, petal. This is far more important anyway. Natasha would kill me if she knew I let you go off on your own."

"K…" I still felt glum, though, or did until I realized something. "Brynhildr, don't go higher! I don't know how well Joshua can take the thinned air!"

I had _never_ had to fight her so much during a flight. This whole thing was just unnerving.

* * *

It didn't take long to realize we were flying in the direction of Saleh's house, and it also didn't take long to notice that we were more or less heading back towards it. I could've winced at how long of a flight it was, though at least it didn't take as long. Brynhildr flew faster than the army could march, especially in this rough terrain, and she strained to fly her absolute fastest. My face was chapped within seconds. My hands reddened from the cold, and ached from how tightly I had to hold onto the reins.

At one point, Brynhildr started arcing south, over mountaintops, and I wondered how she knew where to go. I wondered how she knew there was something wrong. Did she smell something on the wind? Did she just sense something? General Glen had told me that wyverns could 'see people's souls', and while I thought that odd and implausible, I'd be the first to admit that the world was strange. There was a sudden war, after all. Grado trying to destroy the sacred stones. Monsters roaming the lands. A village girl being on first name basis with multiple royals. It was like being in a story. So, wyverns sensing things on the wind wouldn't have surprised me.

Then we flew over an open spot in the mountains, and all those thoughts disappeared for horror and sorrow. For the second time, I found myself flying over the aftermath of a massacre and I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that the moonlight was bright enough to make it relatively easy to see things. Good, because we wouldn't fly over and miss it. Bad, because there was no real hiding of any of this. No amount of shadows could hide the blood, at least, and no dimness could mask that the dead were wyverns and their riders. Some were even still buckled into the saddle, and I found myself counting wyverns as we hovered above. My heart keened when I realized there were fifteen and it broke when Brynhildr swooped close and I recognized one of the broken bodies as Itroph, Glen's wyvern.

Not a single one moved. They were all dead.

"Oh… holy…" Joshua's hand actually shook as it rested on my shoulders. "They've been dead for a while," he breathed. We both had to cough as the smell of rot and blood wafted up on the wind. "We need to land."

"We do," I whispered. Brynhildr trembled under us. "Gods… damn everything."

"Sounds about right."

We landed in the blood, because there was nowhere else to land, and we both stepped down. I grimaced at the blood between my toes and rolled the top of the sleeping pants up and the bottoms of the legs. It was colder, and I shivered, but it lessened the chances of getting it completely bloodstained. While I did this, Joshua, who smartly wore boots for this, wandered through the area, frowning at the blood splattered across the walls. I thought about joining him when I got everything rolled but, but then decided to follow Brynhildr to Itroph's corpse.

There was no sign of Glen. I carefully walked around Itroph's body, looking for some sign of him, but there was nothing. The only sign that he might've been on Itroph was the human shaped blood splatter on the nearby mountain wall and the blood crusting the saddle. Brynhildr nudged Itroph's head, trying to wake him, but the movement only revealed Itroph's mangled throat. The smell of death was nauseating, my stomach turning too much to even think of rebelling. The body was very cold, and a bit stiff.

I wondered when they all died. It had to have been a while. Did they die soon after we left? The thought was unsettling.

"They were killed in the air." Joshua's voice was almost clinical, and his expression was stoic as he continued studying the blood. "If that Glen fellow wasn't dead before his wyvern hit the ground, he was dead afterwards," he explained, moving to my side. He pointed to the human-shaped bloodstain, specifically to the very large one right about where the head would be. "But I think he was. Dead, I mean. Before he hit. Just because of the amount of blood."

"So, they were all killed in the air," I whispered. I shivered when I thought of what that meant, and looked again at the wound on Itroph's throat. "Wyverns. If they were attacked in the air, then it could've only been wyverns that got them."

"Yeah, there are no feathers in the blood. Pegasi always shed feathers during a fight."

"And pegasi can't rip out throats. The most they can do is smash things in." I slowly turned to really study the area. Study the corpses. Study how almost all the blood smears on the mountain walls showed a clear trajectory: down. All of them… all of them likely died to wyverns. "Are wild wyverns…?"

"No, wyverns are only native to Grado."

"Then it was other wyvern knights of Grado. They died to their own."

"Which fits the injuries on some of the others. Lance wounds would be my guess." Joshua's expression was stoic as he pointed to one close by, dangling off the side of their saddle since they were still strapped to their wyvern. A massive and mangled hole in their skull showed just how they'd died. "But who would be insane enough to kill their own Grado General?"

"I…" Something clicked. The word 'insane' made it all click and, horrified, I turned to Brynhildr, who was keening as she still tried to get Itroph to wake up. "Brynhildr. Brynhildr, sweetie…" I rested my hands on her neck and she slowly looked to me. "It was Valter, wasn't it? You've sensed Valter's Evaicrag. You smelled him on the wind, and knew Valter was near. That's why you've been so nervous." Brynhildr nodded and I hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why would she know his wyvern?" Joshua's voice was quiet. He didn't sound surprised. Just curious. "Is it because she fought him before?"

"Evaicrag is her brother, Joshua. One of her two surviving brothers." Another terrifying thought hit me, though, and I stepped away from Brynhildr, shaking. "He… he's been following us since we met up with Innes, Gerik, and Tethys. This whole time…" I didn't like that. I didn't like knowing Valter had been so close, watching us like a cat hunting mice.

"I hate that guy." Joshua's eyes hardened. "But he got us good. This is more than a trap. We got framed."

"Pardon?" The words processed a second later. "Oh, shit. General Glen's last known location or whatever…"

"He went after Eirika and Ephraim, and ended up dead. I'm willing to bet anything that his corpse isn't here because someone, Valter, took it to make sure no one can pretend the death away."

"Meaning we're getting blamed for the death of a very popular, very beloved, general." This was just getting worse and worse. "What the hell? What the actual hell?"

"I don't know." Joshua sighed and came over to pat Brynhildr's neck. "We should gather up their saddlebags, though."

"We're stealing them?"

"Well, it's not like they can get to their families anyway from here." He smiled bitterly. "Maybe we can find some information to keep us safe, petal. Something to maybe avoid another trap. Maybe."

"I… no, you're right." I hated it, but he was right. "The bodies, though…"

"We don't have a means to burn them, and you can't really bury them here. The ground is too hard." He patted Brynhildr again before stepping away. "We can, at least, lay them nice and neat. The animals will get them before long."

"That's so…"

"I know, petal. But we really can't do more for them."

"I know. I hate it."

"I do too." He rubbed my back soothingly. "I do too."

We kept silent as we removed all the saddlebags. Joshua handled the particularly bloody ones, but I ended up taking the ones off of Itroph. As I did, though, something fell out, splashing in the blood. An opaque, orange stone that sparkled even in the low light. Even though I had never seen a gem like this before, I knew it had to be a sunstone. It was General Glen's title, and it really did look like a piece of the sun. Of course, now blood half-covered the sparkles. I thought it terribly fitting.

I picked up the stone and clutched it even as I left General Glen's saddlebag with the others in the pile. As I did, I thought of that brief conversation we had. I thought of the advice he'd given me. He'd laughed at my stupid joke about stealing armor from a dead wyvern rider. It didn't seem nearly as funny now. It seemed even less amusing when I returned to Brynhildr and stared at Itroph's corpse.

"Brynhildr," I whispered. I looked up at her, nudging her side so that she'd pay attention to me. "What do you want to do? About the armor?" She stared at me dully before looking again at the body. She nudged the corpse one more time, like if she tried just one more time, he'd wake up. But, of course, he didn't, and so she drooped and nodded. "Okay."

Slowly, cursing the buckles the whole time, I removed the armor from Glen's Itroph and got it on Brynhildr. I had to remove her saddle to do it properly, but I managed to figure out how to do it. She was a bit bigger than Itroph, but the straps still felt secure when I tested them. When I got the main part on, I worked on sliding the armor for the claws, nearly slicing off my fingers at how razor-sharp they were. Brynhildr moved her claws when I was done, adjusting to the new weight, and nodded. They fit. They were comfortable enough. I wasn't sure if I was happy or horrified by it.

By that point, Joshua had gathered the remaining bags and started looping them together so that they could be carried a little more easily. "Looks good on her," he noted. Distantly, I knew I agreed, but all I could do was smile wanly. "Should we take the saddles?"

"Why take them?" I asked. I started buckling Brynhildr's back on, adjusting things to take the armor into account. I had to thread some of the buckles through the armor's. "I feel guilty enough, you know."

"I know, but we might need a back-up in case yours breaks or something, petal. You can't use a horse's or pegasus's saddle for Brynhildr and a wyvern's saddle…"

"Is only found in Grado." I leaned against Brynhildr, closing my eyes. The worst part was that I didn't feel nearly as much guilt about it as I knew I should've felt. "With the saddlebags, how many do you think we can snag?"

"If Brynhildr is willing? Two."

"Then let's figure out two that'll fit her, get the bodies lying down, and then get back." I turned slightly to smile bitterly at him. He looked just as drained as I felt, and that made me feel better. "I can't wait to tell everyone we fell for yet another freaking trap."

This was just ridiculous. How many did Grado even set?

* * *

The camp was in a barely contained uproar when Joshua and I returned. It had been slowish going, mostly because of all the extra stuff we'd gotten. We lost a couple of the saddlebags, but we held onto General Glen's. I held onto the sunstone. Brynhildr held onto the saddles. We got most of it back to camp. That had been enough. The amount of stuff, and the blood on Brynhildr, Joshua, and me, was also enough to keep the people glaring at us from actually scolding. I didn't see who they were, everything was a bit blurred truthfully from tiredness and shock, though I wouldn't have been surprised if Moulder, Garcia, or Gilliam had been among them. I really wouldn't have been surprised if Seth had been.

But, Brynhildr landed, and no one yelled, so I let her be and marched straight through the camp to the 'Meeting Tent' in the center. I rarely went there, but I knew where it was. All of us did. So, I just walked inside, right in the middle of some conversation Innes, Tana, Eirika, and Ephraim had been having. All of them turned towards me, and I dropped the bloody sunstone on the table they were gathered around, just barely missing a map. "He's dead," I informed them. Silence reigned. "General Glen is dead. Based on location, and the bodies, he and all of his group died very soon after we left his sight."

"Damn it," Innes growled. He glared at the stone on the table. Tana rested a supporting hand on his arm. Eirika covered her mouth to muffle a gasp, while Ephraim simply closed his eyes. "Any clues as to who?"

"Maybe. Slight tangent, though, do you have that damn note? Seth wouldn't let me see it a second time."

"I've a copy." Innes pulled it out from a pile of papers easily and passed it to me. I was surprised he knew where it was, considering just how many papers were scattered across the table. "Is it related?"

"I think so." I studied the words, smiling bitterly. When I looked at it with the context of 'did Valter write this?', it became so gods damned obvious. Of course someone like him would kill those people so brutally. Of course he would write a note in blood. And two of the words became so easy to fill in. _'I will not permit another to sate their bloodlust on you.'_ _'You are my finest prey.'_

It was just the sort of twisted arrogance that fit him. This was so incredibly stupid.

"Valter wrote this," I whispered, setting it down on the table too. "Valter followed us. Valter killed General Glen and framed us for it." I looked all of them in the eye. "We're in another trap, and it's a bad one."

"I got Seth to strengthen the guard on things." Joshua walked in then, brushing his hair behind his ear. I was a little surprised he'd followed me, but I was also very, very grateful. "Petal, we'll have to tend to Brynhildr in a moment," he told me. "She's not letting anyone near, not even to get the saddlebags."

"Oops."

"She's just protecting it. No one is stupid enough to force it."

"Saddlebags?" Tana repeated. She frowned. "You… took their saddlebags?"

"We're going to need information," Joshua gently reminded. He glanced around, eyes narrowed. "Half expected L'arachel to be here."

"She's helping Natasha and Moulder make some medicines."

"Makes sense. But, we're in a lot of trouble." Joshua shrugged. "Petal has mentioned that Glen is dead, right? Well, his body has got to be mangled at this point. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Valter made sure of it. The messier the death, the more outrage from the populace. The more outrage, the more Grado can get away with pushing this war. More battles, more ways for him to indulge his bloodlust."

"The more the people believe the smear campaign against Eirika and myself," Ephraim whispered. He growled and slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it. The hell is going on? Did Valter set this up on his own? Did he have orders?"

"Could be either, but I do know that he's likely been following us since we met with Innes," I pointed out. "Brynhildr has been freaking out because she smelled his wyvern."

"How does she know his wyvern again?"

"They're siblings. One of her two surviving brothers."

"Oh, hell, that has to suck."

"So, we're trapped, again, and on top of it, we've been framed?" Eirika summarized, deftly steering the conversation back to the original point. "General Glen… he wanted to help us, yet now…" Her eyes faltered. "That's how many traps now? And this time, it cost us a potential ally." She shook her head. "I know we must keep going, and that we must hold onto hope, and yet, I cannot help but wonder if…"

"If Jehanna is going to be there by the time we get past all their traps," Tana finished sadly. She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes downcast. "I know I don't keep up with things as much, but I know Jehanna's defenses aren't the best."

"There has to be something we're missing," Innes growled. He raked a hand through his hair, glowering at the air. "The stories all say that the desert was the one area the Demon King never conquered. If we can utilize that, then maybe…"

"That's far more glorious sounding that it was," Joshua _instantly_ retorted. He even laughed, shaking his head. "Way more."

"Explain."

"You could be nicer about someone filling in gaps of your knowledge, but clearly, you're not used to it." Joshua shrugged and Innes had the grace to look a bit contrite. "Regardless, the desert? Unlike the rest of the continent, the desert was no country back then. The glorious army of the eventual King Kasimir was an army of thieves and prostitutes, the hated and the unwanted." Joshua's voice was half-bitter, half-mocking. "The belief that there is something 'other' about those with red hair and red eyes isn't a new thing. In the past, they were used as scapegoats. Blood in their hair and eyes, touched by darkness, the first to be blamed when the monsters came. Those that weren't ripped apart or burned on the stake ran to the desert. Others ran there as well, as the years went by, because maybe they could make some sort of living. Those outcasts grouped together and became the final army of the war."

"That's-"

"No one wanted them and no one wanted the desert. Not even the Demon King. He sent monsters there just because. He only pushed when he realized his pets were being slaughtered, the few that didn't die from the desert, at least."

"The desert has always been Jehanna's greatest defense." Innes's eyes sharpened. "So-"

"Oh, it has, sort of, but back then, it was because the Demon King didn't want his creations to be smart. _Smart_ things rebel when sent to die in droves, after all." Joshua shrugged, perfectly poised. The rest of us just listened intently. "The corpses mummified in the heat and the magic that moved them in the first place couldn't save them from it. The skeletons were torn apart by the wild animals for the marrow in their bones. The eyeballs made it somewhat, but they're still giant eyeballs in the middle of a desert. They cooked just as much as the giant spiders. The dogs and the half-horse ones were bogged down by the sand. Same to the giant one-eyed ones. The snake ones did better, but they were too stupid to hunt for water or to stay out of the sun. It's when the gargoyles showed up that things got interesting."

"That's a long list for a mercenary."

"Prince Innes, to be blunt, you don't know a damn thing about being a mercenary. No prince does, no matter how pragmatic." Joshua's eyes hardened slightly, and he held Innes's gaze. It was Innes who looked away first. "Regardless, the Demon King just didn't make monsters to take the desert until the gargoyles. But this time it's different. It is not unthinking monsters conquering the desert. It's humans, who _are_ smart enough to seek out water, and there are very defined roads in Jehanna now, which lead travelers to safe places to stay."

"Even though the desert is their best defense?" Innes closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, forget that. Of course there are heavily defined roads. Jehanna is dependant on traders."

"Precisely. They had to make easy, safe paths for traders to come. The desert was never meant to be as huge of a country as it's become." Joshua drew his hair over his shoulder, getting it off his neck. "Now, granted, some of the roads can be hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for, but that's the only real 'defense' at this point. The rest is if they're stupid enough to march during the day, to not bundle up at night, and if a storm hits."

"You bundle up at night?" Tana asked. She frowned curiously, tilting her head, ignoring the glare Innes gave her. "Really?"

"Once the sun goes, the temperature drops rapidly," Joshua explained. There was a slight glimmer in his eyes, too quick and faint to really catch. "In the winter, it can go from 'so hot your shoes fall apart' to 'so cold that water is literally freezing' in a single day, depending on the area, though it's better closer to the sea and mountains." Joshua absently began braiding his hair. "It's going to be rough. And, again, that assumes we don't get hit by a storm."

"I've heard of the terrifying sandstorms of Jehanna."

"Yeah, even when you live there, it's trouble. Wind tends to be rougher this time of the year as well, so we'll need to make sure everyone has their nose and mouths covered." Joshua relaxed slightly, and I wasn't sure if anyone else noticed. They were glancing at each other, frowning over what he said. "And if the winds get really bad, then we'll have to pray. I've seen a person blown clear off their feet and crack their skull open because they hit stone. Though, admittedly, that was a really unusual circumstance."

"They're that strong?" Ephraim asked. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I always thought that was exaggeration."

"Probably an understatement truthfully," Joshua admitted. He finished braiding his hair and tossed it back over his shoulder. "At those times, though, there will be enough sand that you will literally be unable to open your eyes, and your skin will dry out fast. Plus all the irritation means you're going to get snotty, you'll cough a lot, and you'll be tearing up constantly, so you'll be stuck with mud on your face. You'll probably end up eating foot infused with sand as well. It will get _everywhere_."

"That's…" Ephraim grimaced. "If our enemies are hit with that, we'll likely be too."

"Sandstorms can last a while, yeah. Same with thunderstorms. Which are also very dangerous."

"A thunderstorm is?" Ephraim frowned, glancing at the others. Innes, Tana, and Eirika shrugged. I just kept stoic. "Really? I mean; I know of some dangers, certainly. Renais is prone to flooding when the bad ones hit. But you seem to imply it's greater."

"Not necessarily greater. It's just more of what's guaranteed. It's been a dry few years, but we are coming onto the time of year where storms roll in, and they are violent things." Joshua shuddered and crossed his arms. "Despite the reputation, more people will drown in a desert than die of thirst. Flash floods all over the damn place when a storm hits. The sand doesn't soak up water easily, so you can get giant walls of water that move boulders."

"Forgive me, but how the hell do people survive there?"

"I'm going to point out that Grado has regular earthquakes, Southern Carcino gets very bad blizzards, Frelia is known for getting hurricanes during the late summer months, Northern and Central Renais are prone to flash floods as you just mentioned, and Rausten is set up by the Darkling Woods, which always has monsters." Joshua grinned and Ephraim nodded, conceding the point with a slight sheepish smile. "This became a very lengthy diatribe, though. If you wanted rambles on desert survival, you could've just asked."

"I think it's a testament to how tired and frustrated we are," Eirika noted quietly. She smiled kindly and clapped her hands together to secure our attention. "Why don't we all go back to bed and look through the saddlebags in the morning? We know the plan is to press forward, after all. No matter how hopeless, that can't change."

"I agree," I added, sighing. Things would be so much easier if we could just give up. But no, we couldn't. "Eirika, I'll be a bit. I've still got to tend to Brynhildr."

"I'll wait up for you."

"Okay."

Our little group dispersed then. Eirika, Ephraim, and Tana all went to spread the news, though Ephraim had caught my hand and gave me a thankful smile before leaving. I'd planned on heading straight to Brynhildr, but quickly remembered all the buckles I'd have to deal with. So, instead, I lingered, waiting for Joshua so that I could ask him for help. However, I wasn't the only one trying to catch Joshua. Innes was too, and he caught his attention first.

"I apologize, Joshua," Innes whispered. He looked down, posture rigid. "I am unaccustomed to being so out of my depth, and being played so well."

"Relax, I'm not offended," Joshua reassured. He even waved away the words, smiling. "I apologize for snapping back. It's been a long day for all of us."

"But..."

"Seriously, no harm done. You stress too much. You need to relax. A rigid statue breaks under pressure."

"I will not break."

"You will give yourself ulcers at the rate you're going, and no amount of pride and stubbornness will change that."

"You are very knowledgeable. In a lot of things."

"Knowing about ulcers isn't that big of a knowledge thing, but I've been a mercenary for ten years, and I've paid for my knowledge through grueling experience and a lot of pain. Worse, I made my mother pay for it too." Joshua's eyes softened, but there was a distinct edge of regret to them. "Relax if only for your sister's sake. She forces a smile to try and keep up with you, you know."

"Mmm…" Innes's eyes narrowed. "Is there time to relax?"

"I can guarantee you that we don't have time for you to vomit up blood." He patted Innes on the back. "I get it, though. You're used to being the person who knows the most, yet right now, everyone is more or less blind. It's enough to frustrate anyone."

"You see a lot."

"Talk to Gerik, and I guarantee you'll get an even better assessment. Mercenaries have to read people well. You don't survive otherwise." Joshua smiled. "You go rest, and next chance we get, we'll buy some drinks and relax a bit."

"No wine." Innes tensed up. "No wine, please."

"Wine is expensive in Jehanna. Beer, though, that's practically the national drink, and no other nation can make it right." He winked and Innes reluctantly laughed, nodding. "I kid. Sort of. We use different spices compared to the others."

"My father always said that there were only two things Jehannans never sold, their beer recipe being one." Innes studied Joshua closely. "He never told me the other."

"Your father is knowledgeable. Most don't know there's more than one. Though, truthfully, there are four things a Jehannan never sells."

"What are they? I'll need to correct him."

"Well, he's right about the beer." Joshua laughed, looking up at the stars. "Our Prayer Songs are never sold, only taught to those with the desert in their blood. They're sacred to us, and which ones you know help define where you're from, how you grew up."

"I haven't heard one."

"We sing them to the injured, and the dying. It's a blessing that you've never heard it." Joshua shrugged. "Then there's our colored glass, given as gifts to trusted friends, but never _sold_. The closest is a mutual trade, and it's a point of pride to own a little glass bauble."

"I've heard Rausten has stained glass windows."

"They do. But Rausten learned from Jehanna, before relations between the countries deteriorated. Rausten showed Jehanna more efficient ways to irrigate the fields in thanks. A mutual trade, but never sold. And most like to forget that Rausten did anything nice for Jehanna, just as Rausten likes to ignore how their beautiful stories-in-glass were only possible thanks to Jehanna."

"And the fourth?"

"Our pride, Innes. The fourth is our pride." Joshua laughed when Innes frowned. "I know what you're thinking. How can a mercenary who sells their blood to the highest bidder have any sort of pride. But we do. Jehanna is our home, the desert is our blood. We're proud of it, in all of its dangers and beauty. We're proud of ourselves, because we see how bad life can get, and still, we keep going. And, of course, we're too prideful to bend and ask for help, like a certain Frelian prince." He grinned and Innes looked away. "Sorry, I had to tease."

"I'm sure." Innes narrowed his eyes again. "Wait, but why does Jehanna have such a monopoly on blown glass? Why keep it-?"

"That's quite a few history lessons in one!" Joshua patted Innes on the back. "Look, look, we can talk more Jehannan history in the morning, when I'm not so tired that I go rambling on every interesting tangent. You can tell me some Frelian in exchange, because I know my knowledge is lacking there. It'll be fun. We can do that instead of you losing money to me in gambling."

"I will figure out your trick. I will."

"Yes, yes, but you seriously need to go rest, and I think petal needs me."

"Hmm?" Innes glanced over and I waved awkwardly. "Ah, my apologies."

"It's fine," I dismissed. I managed a smile. "I just want help with Brynhildr."

"A wise decision, considering everything," Innes agreed. He sighed, shaking his head. "Ephraim explained that Brynhildr practically took off without you and was being most unreasonable."

"She tried to fly with me dangling from her neck." I shrugged, but I did feel guilt press into me again. "I'm sorry, though."

"It got us information, needed information, and no one is hurt. Plus, Natasha reminded us that wyverns are not tamed, by any means."

"Haha… yeah, no." If I had more energy, I would've burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the idea. "We're partners. She loves me, so she tolerates my orders. But she is also a giant, flying reptile with the strength to bite people in half."

"We will be trying to figure out ways to keep her grounded until you can get more people, just in case this happens again." Innes nodded. "For now…"

"For now, bed for you," Joshua interrupted. He even pushed Innes away from the Meeting Tent. "Seriously, the past couple of days have been really long. Today feels like four months in one." He grinned when Innes glowered. "Listen to your elders. I've… what? Four years on you? Five? How old are you again?

"I'm eighteen," Innes replied. "One year older than Ephraim and Eirika, two years older than Tana."

"Then yeah, I'm five years older. Get to bed, young whippersnapper!"

"I am not overconfident."

"You are about your ability to go without sleep!" Joshua laughed and nudged Innes down the path. "To bed, to bed!"

"I'm not five!"

I managed enough energy to chuckle as Joshua continued cajoling Innes down the path until he could pass him off to Gerik. But that cheer soon faded for sheer exhaustion, and Joshua's own tired smile when he returned told me he was also feeling the very long day. But the two of us went back to Brynhildr and worked together to get the armor and saddle off. I'd have to clean it all first thing in the morning, but for right now, I just wanted to get it off her so that she could also get to sleep.

As soon as we got the last piece off, Brynhildr nuzzled Joshua and licked my cheek before lumbering off, back towards our tent. I almost followed, but then I saw Joshua pulled everything off to the side, to make sure no one accidentally tripped over them, so I chose to help him instead so that it could go a bit faster.

While we did… well, I would've thought I was too tired to think. But, instead, my mind jumped to the earlier conversation. Joshua might've deflected it, but the truth was, Joshua _did_ know a lot about Jehanna's history. Mother was also a successful mercenary, one of the best, but I doubted she'd known half of what he'd known. The knowledge that King Kasimir had actually been an outcast, leading a whole army of outcast… that didn't seem like it would be common knowledge, even in Jehanna. I could've been wrong, of course, but most stories about the Five Heroes focused on how glorious and divinely blessed they were. And then there was the glimmer in his eyes when Tana changed the subject and how he'd relaxed as the topic turned away from Jehannan history, based on that 'convenient' comment he'd made.

It also made me think of something else. Joshua deflected a few other questions with ease. But there was something that stood out now. Perhaps it was just because I was tired, but it practically shone in my head. I had joked about his name being the same as the prince of Jehanna. So had Gerrik. But while he'd joked back, he had never refuted it. He had never said…

"Joshua?" I murmured as we got the last of the things out of the way. He glanced at me, saying nothing, simply straightening and helping me stand as well. "You..." I checked to make sure it was only us before deciding to go for it. "You're the prince of Jehanna, aren't you?"

"I am," he replied, bluntly and honestly. He sighed and looked up at the sparkling stars, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I am the idiotic, runaway prince of Jehanna, who caused far too much trouble for his family and country."

"Who lived in the capital. Who took missions from the queen herself."

"Let it never be said I am not the most audacious royal in all of Magvel." He tried to grin, but it faded quickly. "But yeah, that's me. I'm rather surprised you're only piecing it together now, though. When Natasha said you recommended a talk, I thought for sure you had it all figured out."

"I guess it didn't matter, in comparison to everything. You're still you, brother." I gasped, though, as yet another thing occurred to me. Things just made so much more sense now. "Oh, that's why you were hesitating with Natasha. It wasn't being a mercenary. It was…"

"She knows. I told her. That's what our talk was about. I do intend of taking the throne. I do intend on returning. So, I absolutely cannot court someone who isn't willing to become queen." He shrugged and brought one hand out of his pocket to fiddle with the strands that escaped his braid. I tried not to squirm at how close to home that statement hit. Tonight was not a night to talk about that with him. "It wouldn't be fair."

"No, it wouldn't." I studied him then, and began picking out things I hadn't noticed before. He was grey with exhaustion, with slight bags under his eyes hinting that he hadn't been sleeping. He held himself rigidly, even as he tried to pretend he was relaxed. His eyes were distant, like he wasn't seeing the stars, but something else. "You're worried. You're worried about whether we'll make it in time."

"Deathly." He smiled wanly, focusing on me. "Ignoring the damage Grado will inflict on Jehanna, and all the trouble Jehanna is having anyway, I have absolutely no idea if I'll get to see my mother again, Emma. I'm scared she'll die before I can come home. I'm scared she'll die, and never know how sorry I am for the pain I caused her."

"She'll be fine." I bumped my shoulder against his, giving him as much of a smile as I could. It wasn't much, but it was as genuine as I could manage. "Carlyle is with her. He'd keep her safe."

"True." His smile softened slightly. "Yeah, she'll be fine. I'll see her again. She's got Lady Luck on her side too, with the hair and eyes."

"I suppose so." But I couldn't help but notice how sadly he said the words. "Is your coloring the reason why you're obsessed with luck?"

"That's a jump in topic. Actually, that's probably the second or third jump in topic."

"I'm tired. I'm surprised by how coherent I can string words. Forgive the leaps around. So, is it?"

"Emma, there has to be some reason why a sheltered brat of a prince survived ten years as a mercenary, when much kinder and better people were slaughtered. Luck is the only thing I can come up with, even now."

"I suppose." I didn't know how to reply. All I could think of was to change the subject entirely. Again. "So, curious, is the reason why you instantly took to me…?"

"Part of it is that you are very adorable, petal. But, I'll admit part of it was because you're Aunt Tabitha's daughter. If she hadn't died, and I hadn't run away, we probably would've grown up together, so I was very curious." He managed a grin. "And now I have a little sister. I'm the luckiest."

"Same." I smiled, not the least bit offended or… whatever. It just felt right. Maybe it was just how tired I was. "Well, your adorable little sister says you need to go to sleep."

"And she's very right. More importantly, she should take her own advice." He ruffled my hair and I made a face. "But I still need to finish that talk with Natasha or at least-"

"No, I'll let her know you went to bed because tonight has been far too long." I leaned up to kiss his cheek, and I felt him relax. "Besides, you don't want to force an answer from her."

"No, I've already done enough." He laughed, and it was somewhere between tired and mirthless. "Right, bed. Bed sounds good."

"Go on. I'll tell her."

"Thanks, petal." He kissed my temple and walked off, posture slumping with each step. I was half-worried he was going to collapse before he made it to his tent, but I hid my worry by checking that Brynhildr had settled behind my tent. From there, I gave Natasha my message, scrubbed off the worst of the blood, and returned to the tent. Eirika waited up for me, just as she'd said. She even had my bedroll set up so that all I had to do was slide inside.

Both of us passed out pretty quickly, though. Tonight was just a very, _very_ long… something. It was a relief to let it end.

* * *

Author's note: Now, in-game, the cast doesn't learn about Glenn's death for another couple of chapters, nor does anyone figure out Joshua's true identity until he himself reveals it in a few. Which is absolutely hilarious, considering that he goes by his birth name and his only disguise is a hat, his coloring being fairly common, and his attitude. And he does this for ten years with no one knowing where he actually is. And this is despite the fact that he is, apparently, recognizable enough that Carlyle and Queen Ismaire recognize him _on sight_ based on game dialogue in a later chapter.

I added a bit to the lore, mostly in that the Demon King created gargoyles because he was damn tired of the desert stopping him (I know that in-game, you can fight monsters in the one desert location on the map, but we're also assuming the group isn't constantly backtracking to fight random monsters), and a bit on why Jehanna's 'defenses' really aren't that great despite the local gossips.

Beer has always been an important beverage to Egypt, dating far into ancient times. Colored glass and the like have been around since ancient times as well, with the Egyptians and Romans both excelling at the manufacturing of small colored glass objects (look up the Lycurgus Cup and the Portland Vase for examples). Glassblowing itself is an ancient art, with some evidence dating all the way back to 2nd millennium BC (transition from Middle to Late Bronze age). It was particularly popular, though, in the Roman Empire (to the point that there's a whole Wiki article on Roman Glass). Here, Rausten and Jehanna hold the monopoly on it for… fun, really. No other reason. Stained glass is never mentioned in FE8, from what I recall.

Regardless, have Tana using her question, and Emma attempting to come to terms with her feelings. And some fun about desert survival. Valter's note is based off his Level 40 convo in FE Heroes. In-game, the scene with Glen has Eirika far more bewildered and Innes showing off his complete lack of tact by calling Glen an idiot to his face, but I chose to focus it solely on Eirika, as a callback to the last time she talked to an enemy commander knowing, in Chapter 6. Thorny mallow, as far as I know, is a completely fictional plant. The mention of Joshua and Innes gambling, and Innes losing, comes from their supports. The reason for why Joshua focuses so much on luck is taken from his supports with Gerik.

Next Chapter – Village of Silence


	20. Chapter 12) Village of Silence

Chapter 12) Village of Silence

* * *

 _General Glen is dead, killed by Valter. And we've been framed for it, meaning we have once again run straight into a trap. Again, conversation turns to returning, but at this point, Jehanna is closer than Frelia, and so, we press on. It's a slow journey, though. The ground is rough, and many fall. I've ferried many past the worst parts, as have Vanessa and Tana._ _I feel sorriest for the horses, though. This terrain is really bad for their hooves._

 _At night, we post three on watch instead of two. No one feels safe. We're very well aware of just how close to death we're walking, to help a people that made be destroyed before we even get out of the mountains. A feeling of hopelessness presses on our shoulders, but still, we keep going. We have to._

* * *

Laughter caught my ear, and I turned away from cleaning Brynhildr's armor to try and find the source. Unsurprisingly, it was the 'history group' as I'd taken to call them. Joshua, Innes, Ephraim, Eirika, Tana, and L'arachel all grouped together in the center of the camp, sharing what they knew of the Magvel's history while we took a break. It had started with just Joshua and Innes, but Eirika had eagerly jumped in, and Ephraim shortly followed simply because Eirika couldn't remember a battle and stayed because the others were just that good at teaching. L'arachel chimed in with Rausten's history, making her 'disguise' crack even further, and Tana slipped in to talk more about the pegasus knights, as she knew even more than Innes on the subject.

The most amusing part of it, of course, was the fact that it was all the royals bonding, and most of the group had no idea. True, we only 'highly suspected' L'arachel to be royalty, but none of them knew about Joshua. None of them. But I couldn't help but smile a little, watching them. The future rulers of the continent, happily talking together… if we actually survived this, then maybe things would be better. Maybe.

"I can't believe he just ran on ahead!" Tethys, however, was not in a good mood. Not far from me, she grumbled and growled at Saleh and Gerik, because excitable Ewan decided to sneak ahead and let Caer Pelyn know they had guests incoming. "Oh, I knew I should've kept him next to me! But no, he said he wanted to play with Ross and Amelia!"

"Relax, Tethys, he knows this area well," Gerik reassured. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her temple. "Saleh's not worried. See?"

"Saleh never shows his worries on his face!" She scowled up at him. Saleh, still silent, did smile slightly, apparently amused by the argument. "This is your fault. You spoil Ewan too much."

"Hey, he's adorable and he's your little brother. Of course I'm going to spoil him."

"Too much!"

"You do need to be stern with him," Saleh agreed. He crossed his arms, exasperation creeping into his voice. "Otherwise, he runs all over the place."

"Precisely!" Tethys huffed. Her scowl deepened when Gerik pulled her a little closer and kissed her cheek. "Stop trying to sweeten me. You can't kiss your way out of all our arguments!"

"It's not one I'll ever quite agree with, Tethys," Gerik pointed out, shrugging. "I like spoiling him. I want him to have a happy childhood. He's a good kid, and he's your brother, so I want him extra happy."

"…Argh, why do I let you get away with that?"

"Because you love me, and I am very lucky."

"Do I need to come up with a convenient excuse for you two to be away again?" Saleh asked. His eyes narrowed slightly in quiet laughter. "I think you two do know the way from here."

"No, no, we're technically on the job," Gerik laughed. He laughed more when Tethys swatted his shoulder. "Though, where did Marisa go?"

"I think she's talking with…" Saleh frowned. "The boy with long blue hair and the cloak? Quiet?"

"Sweet on the pink-haired archer who cooks with Emma?"

"Yes, him."

"I think his name is Colm. He's talking with Marisa?" Gerik smiled warmly, pleased by something. "Odd, but nice. She's more sociable with this group."

"This group rarely lets anyone be alone for long."

"You and Princess Eirika were having a talk just yesterday, weren't you?" Tethys asked, smiling. Gerik managed to sweeten her mood after all, it seemed. "What about?"

Brynhildr leaned down and nuzzled me then, drawing me out of my eavesdropping. I blinked a few times, startled, and laughed when I noticed I'd cleaned one particular spot of the armor so much that I could see my face in it. "I guess I got distracted," I murmured, setting down my rag. Then I set about getting the armor back on Brynhildr. My hands fumbled on the buckles, mostly because the leather straps resisted the 'new' points where it had to bend. "You know; I never considered it, but you're rather big for a wyvern, aren't you?" At the least, she was bigger than Itroph had been. "Huh. I wonder how you measure compared to others."

Brynhildr not-purred and licked my cheek. She'd been extra sweet since we learned what happened to General Glen. I thought it was to make up for how unreasonable she'd been, but it could've also simply been her reassuring herself that I was still here. That was another loved one dead for her and I knew the feeling very well. I'd joined a crazy mission just to try and find Orson, after all.

She crooned, nudging my head, and curious, I looked up, wondering why she was trying to get my attention. She nodded at something in the mountain cliffs above us, and I frowned. "Is something there?" I asked. She did the wyvern equivalent of a shrug. "Really? You go being cute and sweet and then you're like 'hey, go check out weird thing'? Really?" The worst part was that I was climbing on top of her to reach it. Thank the gods I wasn't a cat, otherwise, this curiosity would've been guaranteed to kill me. "Honestly…"

Brynhildr lifted herself up so that I could hop onto the rocks, and settled down as soon as I had firm footing. I rolled my eyes, tempted to toss some dirt on her, but I resisted to look around instead. And, to my surprise, I found a building half-hiding within the stone itself. Curious, again, I stepped a little closer, noticing the carvings along the walls. They looked ornamental, highly decorative, until I noticed that a few of them actually hid inside. A peek inside showed a staircase, and perhaps a place where someone, an archer, could set up. The holes were plenty large enough for an arrow, after all.

"Emma, you shouldn't explore the ruins without telling anyone." Saleh's voice drifted up, and I walked back to where I'd climbed up to see him giving me a stoic look, completely ignoring the lounging Brynhildr next to him. "Some animals do make their homes inside, and they're not that stable anymore," he chided. Brynhildr growled then, sulking. "Why are you growling?"

"I'm up here on her recommendation, so I think she's protesting your unintentional scolding of her," I explained. I crouched down, smiling. "So, ruins? They're pretty."

"Yes, forts abandoned during and after the war with Fomortiis."

"With who?" I didn't know that name at all.

"Sorry, the Demon King."

"He has a name?" That was… surprising. For some reason. It made sense he had a name, but I'd literally never heard it before. "Why does no one use it?"

"I believe it is because for the longest while, no human knew his name, only learning it from the Great Dragon near the end of the conflict." Saleh shrugged. "In Caer Pelyn, we prefer using it when not talking to outsiders because he is nothing but a false king. Powerful, and a threat certainly, but 'Demon King' is the name he gave himself, and so, we choose against acknowledging that."

"Huh. That's cool." Demon King was easier to remember, though, but that was probably because I grew up with it. Besides, it didn't matter because knowing there were forts here reminded me of a question I had for a while. "Say, Saleh?"

"Yes?"

"I've been wondering this for a while, but how do you guys get food and water around here?"

"You go from forts and demons to questions of sustenance?" Saleh shook his head, apparently amused. I scowled, not sure why it was that much of a leap. Forts needed supplies, but there weren't really signs of former fields or anything around here. "Regardless, we grow our own food, and there is a river near Caer Pelyn where we get water. As for the rest, we have no need for material wealth. In this, we are of one mind with the Great Dragon."

"The what?" I frowned, curious. "I don't know that name either."

"Few do." A slight trace of annoyance threaded through his voice then. "Mankind quickly forgot its debt to the Great Dragon."

"Well, sorry? I only know what I'm told." I shrugged, hiding my own annoyance. I didn't like when people tried to make me feel guilty, even by proxy. I had enough to be guilty over as it was. "So, if you'd like to inform me?"

"The Great Dragon is a blessing, one that watches over all of mankind. In the days of the Demon King, he lent his strength to humans and sealed the Demon King."

"Really? Huh. I've always heard that it was the Five Heroes and the five Sacred Stones, but the stones coming from a dragon on the mortal plane makes way more sense than a god. I guess." Maybe it also explained why the things were so stupidly fragile. "Where is he now?"

"He watches over the body of the Demon King in the Darkling Woods, and keeps the worst of the monsters from swarming the world of men." Saleh's voice became very respectful then. "He is ever vigilant, and yet, history forgets him."

"If this Great Dragon was all that strong, then maybe he purposely asked to never be mentioned." I hummed a little in thought, studying the clouds above. "I mean; he just got done fighting one really powerful thing, and people turn against those who are 'different' in times of strife, or just to feel better about themselves. By disappearing from history, though, he's kept safe, and he's not put onto a pedestal." I shrugged, looking down at Saleh again. He looked back with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe it's just me, but I think the thing I'd hate more than anything is being put on a pedestal. It's one thing to pick isolation. It's another to have it forced on you."

"That sounds like a philosophical discussion for another time." But he did smile slightly. Just slightly. "It is, however, a point of view I had not considered, truthfully."

"Well, I suppose we can talk later on it." Though, really, I'd just been rambling. "What does it mean that we're seeing monsters in other places now?"

"There is a great darkness, a foul energy, that taints the sky and earth from the south. I was escorting Myrrh to investigate when we were ambushed and separated. I am grateful to Prince Ephraim for saving and protecting her."

"She looks like a sweet girl, if shy and sad." And a bit weird, but somehow, I had a feeling that wasn't a thing to say. "South, though… that's Grado for sure."

"Yes. And with the wards of the Sacred Stones fading, that energy allows monsters to become stronger and slink beyond the Great Dragon's protections. He must, after all, watch over the body as well."

"What happens if he doesn't?"

"Someone might try to bring back the Demon King. I am told there was an attempt twenty-five years ago, but a band of unsung heroes stopped them."

"Why would anyone want to bring back something that wants to conquer everything and kill all humans?" I grimaced. "Freaking hell, I know misery loves company and all, but that's a little much, isn't it?"

"I'm sure it made perfect sense to them. Somehow."

"Are you two seriously having a lesson while she's perched precariously on the edge of a little cliff?" Tethys laughed, skipping over then. "Little wing, be careful. You're wearing a skirt, sweetie."

"Yes, I am?" I replied. I glanced down and took note that I did block any view of my underwear with my legs and knees. "I'm fine. And it's not Saleh is the type to try and peak under a girl's skirts, right?"

"True." She giggled and poked Saleh's rapidly coloring cheek. I wasn't sure Saleh had even noticed until she'd pointed it out. "I don't quite understand why so many girls here where miniskirts without shorts underneath as Marisa does. Given how much some of you move and fight, that's just giving the enemies plenty of opportunities."

"Well, they can die happy?" I had to snark, and she burst into laughter. Saleh choked on either a startled yelp or a laugh of his own. "More seriously, I don't know? Eirika and I wear Frelian clothes primarily, since we couldn't bring clothes while on the run, and I think they dressed and armored both of us like pegasus knights." Though, now that I thought about it, why they went with miniskirts for the uniform instead of pants was beyond me. "I don't know about Amelia, though."

"Amelia mentioned making her own clothes, so maybe she just didn't have enough cloth." Tethys giggled a bit more. "Sorry for the tangent. I was just remembering how Eirika teased Forde earlier when he worried about how 'un-modest' a short skirt could become."

"Yeah, I think they heard his yelp in Grado." I smiled. I hadn't been near during the conversation, but Eirika had been laughing a lot when she explained it to me. "Regardless, are you just here to tease?"

"Actually, little wing, you should come down." She smiled sweetly. "We're preparing to leave. Saleh, how far off are we?"

"We're half a day off, at worse," Saleh answered. His blush had faded by now, and there was no trace of any sort of embarrassment in his stoic expression. "We should be able to rest within Caer Pelyn tonight."

"And I am definitely looking forward to it~!" Tethys cheered. She even clapped her hands in delight. "But seriously, little wing, you should come down."

"Be right there," I reassured. I stood slowly, stretching a bit, and settling my feet to get a little more stable. "Brynhildr, sweetie, can you-?"

A quiet skittering sound caught my ear, and I turned around, frowning. Dread dripping down my spine, I crept a little closer, moving towards the entrance of the fort. The sound grew a little louder, and I peered inside, wondering if it was some sort of animal. As the sunlight filtered in, though, I found myself looking at… at teeth the side of my hands. At pincers the length of my arms. At a swollen body easily the size of two horses, or maybe three. At beady eyes the size of eggs.

I knew this thing. I knew this thing far too well. And I screamed at the sight, throwing whatever I could snag at it. It screeched as a few rocks, bits of dirt, and the occasional odd twig caught its eyes, making my ears ring. It lunged forward to try and pin me down, retaliation or just wanting another meal. I dodged it, though, and raced back, almost falling off the cliff in my haste. But Brynhildr caught me, and I managed to slide down her back instead, landing on the ground with a bone-jarring thump instead a bone-breaking one. The giant spider screeched again, looming over the edge, but Brynhildr snaked up with armored claws and vicious teeth and ripped it to shreds before it could do anything else. And something inside me broke.

"I! Hate! Spiders!" I snapped. I was shaking badly, almost enough that I couldn't stand, and it was a struggle to breath. "I hate those things! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!"

"Easy, Emma, easy." It took three blinks to realize Gilliam, of all people, was in front of me. I had no idea when he'd showed up; I had no idea how he snuck up on me. He clanged horribly whenever he moved, thanks to the armor. "Emma, try to focus on me and take deep breaths," he urged, resting his hands on my shoulders. A good thing, since I really was about to collapse. "I'll count. Try to sync your breathing to it."

"I-!"

"Sync your breathing to my counting. One… two… three…" It took quite a few tries to get my breathing under control. I'd hiccup, or I'd cough, or I'd start screaming how much I hated those gods forsaken and damned spiders. But each time, Gilliam simply began again, perfectly patient.

But, finally, my breathing eased, and my shaking calmed. "Thank you," I rasped, coughing a little. Tears pricked my eyes, but I steadfastly ignored them. I still felt like screaming. "I'm sorry. Thank you. Why are you…?"

"As soon as I saw the spider, I thought you and Vanessa would have a bad reaction, considering what happened," he explained. He kept steadying hands on my shoulders, and I was very grateful. I wasn't sure I could stand on my own quite yet. "So, I came to find you."

"Where's Vanessa?"

"Moulder went to her." He pointed to where Vanessa and Moulder were a short distance away. Vanessa didn't seem to be shaking or having trouble breathing, but she did cling to Moulder's sleeve as he talked to her. Another hand wrapped around her stomach, like she was queasy. Or maybe she was remembering the pain and trauma, since her hand was right over the scar left behind. "She'll be fine. Moulder's helped many through things like this, just as I have."

"Right…" I had to laugh at myself, though. "This is pathetic."

"No, it is simply a result of trauma, Emma." He made sure to look me in the eye, still perfectly calm. "I can't stay too long at high locations, after watching a friend fall to his death. Garcia goes berserk when assassins appear, and it took a long time to calm him when we were attacked in Carcino." I hadn't known that. Then again, I'd been outside, doing a patrol and then investigating that massacre. "That Forde lad will sketch endless amounts of pictures after a battle to calm his nerves. Artur always kneels down to whisper shaking prayers. I'm certain there are things the others go through. We're just older, and know how to hide better. We know how to calm ourselves, and how to work around them. That's all."

"I see." I wasn't sure if I felt better or not, but I did appreciate the reassurance nonetheless. "Still, to break down over a spider and not…"

"A giant spider with a very fast venom that is bigger than a horse, and maybe even a house." Gilliam's voice was perfectly dry, and I had to smile at it. "Besides, you do get used to battles. You do get used to having death hound you, particularly when you live less because you want to live, but because you do not want your loved ones to be sad." He patted my shoulder, expression stoic. It was more comforting than a smile. "But you don't get used to people nearly dying to protect you. You simply don't."

"I guess so." I never really had someone get hurt protecting me before, now that I thought about tit. People had died around me, certainly, but it had been happenstance. Until then. Until that horrible moment when Vanessa almost... "It really scared me, back then. No, it had horrified and terrified me." Even those words felt too 'bland' to describe that feeling, but they were the only ones I could think of.

"And that is why you have the bad reaction now. It's that terror again, surging back. That's all."

"Yeah…" It did make some sense and so, I found myself relaxing. "Thank you. I'm sorry."

"Everyone heals in different ways, Emma. That's why Moulder does not hound you as he tried in the beginning. Though he worries, he does think you are healing, piece by piece, in your own way. I think I agree."

"I… sure?" I had no reaction to that. But I could think of something, and it felt like better 'ground' to speak about. "You really like the venison stew Neimi and I make, right?"

"I… do?" Now he frowned, confused. "Why?"

"Next time we cook, I'll try to make it. As thanks." And those apple pancakes Moulder adored. We still had a few apples in our rations. Barely.

"Well, I won't refuse. It is a good dish." He looked behind him, frown deepening. "It seems the spider wasn't alone, though."

"Pardon?" Only then did the noise filter in, the panicked scrambling of our group. That only meant one thing: we were ambushed. "Oh, freaking hell."

"Are you steady enough?"

"I'm always steady enough to protect this crazy group." The words were automatic, said without thought. But they felt 'right', and Gilliam actually smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"There is no need for further thanks. If you can do your duty…"

"Then that's the best way to thank you. Got it." I took a deep breath, closed my eyes briefly, and nodded. "Okay. Current person shouting orders is…"

"Prince Innes, it seems. It looks like Prince Ephraim is assisting Seth with pushing back the first wave."

"Thank you." I left him behind, pushing past the others to make my way towards Innes. I spared a glance for Vanessa, but found her in the middle of things already, helping others arm up, so I focused on my own goal. It wasn't long before I found him, but I did have to wait a moment when I did. Innes, after all, was talking to a near-tears Tethys.

"I'm really sorry about this," she was saying. She held herself stiffly, and shifted on the balls of her feet, almost like she was balancing between 'screaming' and 'sobbing'. "I know it's one more thing to worry about, and I'm sorry, but Ewan is-"

"Tethys, you do not have to apologize to anyone, much less me, for being worried about family," Innes interrupted. His expression was stoic and his tone was sharp, but there was still something gentle about the words. "I know, very well, the headaches that come with having a hyperactively stubborn younger sibling." He pointed to Tana, who was helping Marisa with something nearby. "Trust me."

"I… right…" She took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Your little brother. I know. Trust me. I understand." He mostly appeared stoic, but I caught a trace of very real fear in his eyes. "But I do need you to calm down, Tethys. If we're to maximize our chances of surviving this, and finding Ewan, we will need your Dancer's Gift."

"Of course." She opened her eyes again, and while she still looked teary, her smile was genuine. "Thank you. I'll do some warmups to quiet me."

"Or have Gerik kiss you?" I had to tease. Both jumped, startled. Tethys even squeaked. "Hi, sorry. I had to."

"You feeling better, little wing?" Tethys asked. There was a mischievous glint in her eye, hinting she'd get me back. Innes merely facepalmed, annoyed. "You look pale."

"I'm fine now. Sorry about that."

"Okay." She laughed. "Actually, I think I will snag that kiss from Gerik, to get him back for earlier. Let me brush your hair later, okay?" And she danced off, easily disappearing into the crowd.

"Are you up for heading in the air for an aerial view?" Innes asked. He brought his hand down, and instead, fussed with his cuff. "The mountain is very high at this point. Tana and Vanessa both can't fly outside of an archer's reach anymore. Their pegasi are uncomfortable, and they suffer more severe effects of the thinned air."

"Yeah, I can still head up, I think." It did worry me. Flying high at this elevation… I had experienced shortness of breath when I did a high-patrol at a lower elevation. But if it was just that, I could deal. "I'll head as high as I safely can."

"That's all anyone can ask."

"Am I looking for Ewan or am I getting a count?"

"I need a count." He answered quickly, and I thought it was almost 'too' quickly. That he had to answer that quickly or otherwise, he'd change his mind. He had no love for Ewan, but I didn't think that mattered to him. Because _Tethys_ was in his employ, and he seemed the type to defend his people with everything he had. And also Ewan was a child, in his eyes. Frelia's age of majority was sixteen years, same as Renais. "If you happen to see him, note it, but I really need that count."

"Okay." I smiled reassuringly at him and, after a moment, he smiled back a little wanly. It was all his pride would allow. "I'll yell down what I see. I recommend finding Lute or Saleh. I definitely know Lute knows a lot about these creatures, and I'd be surprised if Saleh didn't."

I could only hope we'd all get through this. Ewan, please, be okay.

* * *

"Did the freaking monsters set a gods damned trap for us?!" I had to growl when I pulled Brynhildr to a stop to get a good look below. It was the most bizarre thing, but the monsters had actually set up in a pincer attack. In multiple directions. In front, behind, to the sides, and _in the freaking air_. "Argh… I hate gargoyles…"

"Thankfully, they had to keep low, so Neimi and Innes could help you deal with them," Tana replied. She and I flew side-by-side, since we were assigned the same duty at this point. "I don't like those spider things, though. I'm glad Dozla and Ross climbed up to deal with them."

"The sooner they all die, the better." I shuddered, dread creeping down my spine. I was very glad Innes and Ephraim arranged the strategy so that Vanessa and I didn't have to go near the things. I was also glad they were all dead so that Vanessa could cover any aerial support alone while Tana and I did our job. "Any sign of Ewan?"

"Nothing yet." Tana drooped and I didn't blame her. Once we got the skies and mountains cleared, Seth had ordered us to look for Ewan. Having someone 'on the job' prevented others from fretting themselves sick, so we'd agreed eagerly and set off. But in all the chaos, there was no sign, despite the number of times we flew around the battlefield. "He's okay, right?"

"I'm sure he's fine." Though I didn't quite believe the words, I smiled reassuringly at her and, after a moment, she smiled back. "He's got red hair and red eyes. In Jehanna, that's lucky. I'm living proof of that luck! Plus, he does know the area."

"…Right!" Her smile softened before it fell entirely suddenly. "Emma, look out!"

"Huh?" That was all I managed before the dark rings of magic struck. I brought up my arms instinctively, to protect my eyes, and I winced as the magic bit into my upper arms and cut into the leather gauntlets I always wore, but strangely, there was less pain than I remembered. I had the presence of mind to bring out an arrow and shoot the floating eyeball that attacked me before sitting back in the saddle, trying to figure out what happened.

I remembered those giant eyeballs. I remembered getting hit by their magic in the Za'ha woods. I remembered how the pain had been immense, to the point where I swore being flayed alive would hurt less. Yet, this time, while I was in pain, it wasn't the same. I bled, but it was less. In the Za'ha woods, I only managed to keep fighting because I'd been too numb to do anything else. Here, I could keep fighting because it was just.. less.

"Emma, you okay?" Tana asked me worriedly. She flew a little closer and pulled some elixirs and bandages out of her bag. "Here, let's get the worst."

"Save the elixirs, Tana," I absently requested. I was still trying to piece things together. "I'll take a vulnerary, but the healers didn't get to make a lot of the elixirs, right?"

"They'll make more tonight, but okay. I have vulneraries too." She exchanged the elixirs for a vulnerary and bandaged the worst of it. "You okay, though?"

"Strangely, yes." And I should just be grateful, but it bothered me. I wanted to figure it out.

But, as Tana bandaged up my arms and the part of my neck it clipped, I noticed something odd. There was a gentle warmth against my chest, underneath my breastplate, underneath my shirt even. Confused, it took me a second to even remember I was wearing Myrrh's talisman and I tugged it out to study it. It glowed faintly in my palm, still warm, but both fading. Apparently, the whole 'protection from magic' thing hadn't been superstition?

"So, Tana, if I somehow forget, remind me to thank Myrrh," I commented, tucking the talisman back under my collar. She tied off the last of the bandages and nodded, smiling. "Wow, that was…" A flicker of movement caught my attention, and I gasped. An arrow was heading right for…! "Tana, duck behind me!" Thankfully, Tana listened instantly, and Brynhildr was already moving, so I quickly maneuvered Brynhildr so that the arrow just splintered off Brynhildr's chestplate, no damage. "Holy…"

Tana threw a javelin straight down, catching the skeleton who'd shot the arrow straight through the 'chest'. "I forgot that we're not so high up that we're out of range," she groaned, facepalming. "Ugh, high altitudes suck."

"Can you manage higher?"

"Unfortunately, no. I don't have that much experience with it." She half-glared at me. "By the way, how do you? Have experience or resistance or whatever it is, I mean."

"A combination of luck, lots of high-patrols, and Syrene drilling me under Seth's tutelage those few days we had between the ball and our departure." I shuddered, remembering the lessons, but I couldn't help but smile also. She'd been very kind about it, at least. "So, think my lessons with Seth _and_ my lessons with Innes."

"Oh, that makes sense. Syrene is a strict teacher. She taught Vanessa and me, after all." Tana giggled and relaxed slightly. "Anyway, though, I've a new flying plan!"

"And that is?"

"I watch for magic, and you watch for archers. Achaeus is better at dealing with magic than Brynhildr."

"Whereas Brynhildr's got double armor now thanks to, well, the armor." It almost made my heart ache how useful the armor had been. I still felt horrible about stealing it from Itroph's corpse. I still felt horrible that we couldn't at least bury the dead. "Okay, let's fly in that pattern while looking for Ewan."

So, we did. We flew over the battlefield, as high as Tana could tolerate. We assisted the fighting where we could, but we mostly just tried to spot one bit of blood-red hair amidst the muck and chaos of the battle below. Bryhildr watched for arrows and would quickly roll to protect both Tana and me. When magic flew, Achaeus either led Brynhildr out of the way or intercepted the blow himself. I winced at the little cuts and bits of blood that marred his white coat, and silently vowed to give him bunches of treats as soon as we had time for spoiling.

"Hey, Emma," Tana called after a while. She pulled Achaeus to a stop and I had Brynhildr do the same. "Look there." She pointed to where a group of revenants were clustered around a falling apart house just on the edge of the mountains. "That seems odd."

"That it does," I replied, narrowing my eyes. There were four or five, strange considering the rest weren't so clustered. "Wonder what they're doing there."

"Could it be Ewan?"

"It might. He does know the area, and hiding in the ruins would provide him with some sort of protection. I'd question why they'd devote so much manpower... corpse power... whatever to getting a little boy, especially with a bunch of soldiers bearing down on them, but..." I scanned the nearby area, looking for more clues, and winced as I saw something thundering towards the group "Oh, what the hell is that thing?"

"Which thing?"

"That one." I pointed to the half-horse, half-person monster thing wielding an axe so damn large that I just had to wonder where the hell that came from in the first place. "You know; I always assumed monsters stole their weapons from the dead, but I guess the Demon King has smiths or something, because I think that axe is bigger than a person."

"That thing could probably cut Achaeus and me clean in half without pause." Tana shuddered, gripping the reins tightly. "Oh, I really do need to learn swords like Syrene. That way axes don't have as much of an advantage against me."

"Tana, I'm around a hundred percent certain the recommended strategy for that thing is 'hit it from afar' unless you're heavily armored." I looked down again, this time checking who of our own forces was close. I grimaced when I realized something. "Ours haven't made it yet, and it looks like our magic users are held up with guarding the field infirmary thanks to those damn dogs, so we can't ferry them over here without risking the injured."

"And Vanessa is currently helping the cavalry. Because of course she is." Tana sighed and glanced at me. "So, what's the plan? We could abandon it, but if it _is_ Ewan..."

"We have to at least make sure it's not him." I studied the half-horse monster, and then looked to Brynhildr. After a moment, Brynhildr nodded, sensing my silent question. "Okay. Brynhildr and I can handle the horse monster."

"I can get the revenants, then. They're particularly susceptible to hooves to the head."

"Wow, just like the living." I couldn't help the teasing, and she laughed. "Okay. Don't die." And Brynhildr dropped, deciding that further talking was pointless. We had a job, and it was distracting a very weird looking monster.

She bent her head down as she dove, so that I could line up a shot. My first went wide. My second grazed its arm. The third caught it right where the human half met the horse half. That third one caught its attention, and Brynhildr and I learned quickly learned a very important thing: something as big as a horse, with a human half that matched it in size, wielding a giant freaking axe also had a _very long reach_. Thankfully, the strike only hit Brynhildr in the chest, but the 'clang' had been long enough to make my ears and the blow had been strong enough to actually send large and heavy Brynhildr off her course. She righted herself just before she and I crashed into the nearby ruins, but the jerk had been enough to nearly make me smack my nose against her neck. I did get a lovely look at the huge dent in the armor, though, a very clear reminder that if we didn't have that armor.

"You know… if I really am beloved by the Queen-Goddess of the Dead like Natasha and L'arachel say those with red eyes and red hair are, I'd really appreciate it if she did not kill the people who indirectly save my life after they died," I whispered, unable to help it. Of course, the sentence barely made sense even to me. Actually it probably made no sense, even to me. "Seriously, just think of how helpful General Glen would be right now." I'd kill for another wyvern rider to do stupid things like this with. I really would.

Brynhildr growled, telling me to get out of my head because there was a battle to fight. So, I took a breath and made myself focus on the half-horse monster, who had turned away. One blink… two… and on the third I fired, landing the arrow in the lower part of its back. It screeched and twisted, snarling at me before turned and charged for me with a bellow.

I got one more arrow off before I bent over Brynhildr's neck to minimize how much of me was a target. Brynhildr screeched her own war cry and leapt over the axe swing to dig her claws into the monster's human half. The monster mostly managed to dodge, but it didn't account for just how sharp Brynhildr's claws were. She carved a long gash into its side and flew up in the air out of reach of the monster's second swing. Once I was certain we were out of reach, I lined up another shot and fired. The first grazed an arm. The second got its chest, but it didn't seem to notice or care. It reared up to try and get at Brynhildr with its hooves before charging again with the axe. I tried to shoot it one more time, but missed entirely. Brynhildr kept in the air until after it swung before darting down with claws out. It dodged, though, and surprising, reared up and snagged my arm in a bruising grip, right on a wound. I hissed and tried to hook my bow around my other arm so that I could get my lance, but it grinned sickly, showing off rotten teeth, and brought the axe up with very clear intent.

Brynhildr screeched right in its ear, though, and it jerked back, letting go of me to put a hand on its ear. It came away bloody, but it didn't have time to try and process that. Brynhildr twisted and grabbed it in both of her claws, and I expected she'd simply try to rip through the spine. Instead, she beat her wings hard and began lifting the monster into the air.

She strained at it. I could feel it, and I set my free hand on her, intending on telling her to let go. But she shook her head and with a very powerful downstroke of the wings, we were flying through the air. The monster thrashed and screamed, a horrifyingly human scream I absently noted then, as we rose, one beat of her wings at a time. Up and up and up, the slowest I had ever seen her fly, until we were higher than we'd been with Tana earlier. She paused then, head turning this way and that like she was contemplating something, before she flew a little further to the right and then let go of the monster. It screamed and screamed as it fell until there was a giant blood splatter on the ground, and it screamed no more. A quick look made me realize she'd done her best to drop it where the others wouldn't get even splashed. Thoughtful.

"Brynhildr, you don't need to react so violently to me getting hurt," I said absently, patting her neck. She panted under me, but she did twist her head back to give me a perfectly pleased look. "We could have just gone up in the air. Now I'm worried you hurt yourself, sweetie." She crooned and shook her head. "You're still getting looked at. I'll weep if you're hurt." Now she gave me a 'oh, fine, stop being dramatic' look. "Thank you."

"Emma!" Tana flew over then, with a frazzled, but definitely alive Ewan sitting in front of her. "Hey, that was cool!" she giggled. Her hair was half out of her ponytail, and there were bandages on both her and Ewan. She must've fixed them both up before Brynhildr decided to dramatically drop the monster. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," I reassured. I smiled warmly at them. "And you three?"

"A couple of close calls, but ultimately, we're fine." She gestured down to where there were some re-dead revenants draped over the bits of the ruins. Some looked rather charred, truthfully. "They faired much worse."

"I helped out!" Ewan happily declared. He was a bit ashen, but he looked pleased with himself. "I was burning them! With my fire magic! Like Teacher taught me!"

"He did. He was very helpful actually."

"I thought so!" He puffed out his chest, definitely pleased. "Hey, can I keep helping? In the future, I mean. With the other battles."

"Can you what now?" I asked. I glanced at Tana and she gave me the biggest shrug she could manage. Something told me he'd asked her this same question earlier, but she'd deferred the answer. "Really? You left to to someone else?"

"Let's just say I understand where my brother is coming from, to a point, now, and I hate it," she grumbled. I had to keep from laughing, both because of how annoyed she was, and how strange this conversation suddenly became. "And don't tell him I said that."

"Never." I nudged Brynhildr to fly a little closer to Achaeus and gently touched Ewan's face. "Well, you are Jehannan. There's people younger than you now doing mercenary work, and you're not any younger than Ross and Amelia." I studied him as he met my gaze fiercely. He might be a prankster, but he did know what he was asking, to a point. "So, you may argue your case with Tethys. If she agrees, then I'll help you argue your case with Innes, Eirika, and Ephraim."

"Is that a good idea?" Tana frowned, even as Ewan's face lit up. "I mean…"

"Like I said; he's no younger than Amelia and Ross. And he's only one year younger than you." I waited to see if she'd protest, but she simply grimaced. "It's also not uncommon for Jehannans to take up mercenary work when thirteen, Joshua did, and he's two years past that." I didn't like the idea, but… "I'd rather not coddle him. All of us made the choice to fight, one way or another. And it's not like he won't be traveling with us anyway. I'm willing to bet even if we tried to leave him behind in Caer Pelyn, he'd sneak away."

"Yep!" Ewan admitted, having no shame. Even Tana had to laugh at the audacity. "Thank you, Miss Emma. I'll talk with my sister first."

"And, speaking of her, she's been worrying herself sick over you," I replied. I glanced down and noticed the chaos of the battle was dying down. "Let's get you to her. It looks like the battle is wrapping up."

As we flew, and the battle-fever left for pain, I found myself wondering why the monsters were clustered here in the first place, but decided it probably didn't matter. Not when another worry quickly replaced the question. What would happen when the monsters reached more heavily populated areas? Lute and Artur's home had to be completely evacuated, but during a war like this, where would a city the size of, say, Ivroria, the second smallest of the capital cities… where would all those people go? The war had taken away their safe places, so...

I didn't like this. I didn't like this one bit.

* * *

After the battle, though we were very exhausted, we decided to push forward. We wanted actual shelter for the night, not just tents in the middle of open nowhere, and Saleh mentioned something about wards guarding Caer Pelyn. I didn't quite know what that meant, other than 'safety', and that was what we all sought. A safe place for the night, for once. Most of us were near passing out by the time we made it, though. Even Tethys and Ewan had stopped their arguing in favor of helping each other up the last bit.

An old woman, face lined with wrinkles, greeted us at the edge of the village. The wind tugged at her clothes as she waited, her headscarf only staying on due to the woven circlet she wore, a perfect match to the one Saleh also wore. It reminded me of the cord Ewan also had around his head and I wondered if it was a Caer Pelyn tradition. "Hello there, travelers," she greeted, looking over all of us. Her eyes were sharp and clear, like they saw everything but judged nothing. I couldn't decide if it was comforting or unnerving. "I recognize only a few of you. Saleh, is this something the Great Dragon requested of you?"

"Not directly, Dara," Saleh answered. He gestured to Ephraim, who bowed respectfully. "However, this one saved her when she came into danger, and now, she waits in a safe location for this group's return. I am simply helping them in their duties, in exchange for accompanying them back to see her safety with my own eyes."

"Is that so? I am pleased to hear she is well." She looked over the rest of us. "Many of you wear very fine clothing. I warn you now that your titles mean little to us. However…" She smiled slightly, just slightly, and the wrinkles in her face deepened some. "So long as you respect that, I bid you welcome to Caer Pelyn. I am Dara, but most call me Grandmother. Feel free to do the same." She nodded to the village, and a couple of others stepped out from their homes. Many wore circlets and bands around their heads. "We have little beyond what we need, but please, rest as long as you like. The hour is late, and you are both exhausted and injured."

"There is much to inform you on."

"Then show their leaders to our home, Saleh, and make sure to make some tea for the girl with the long teal hair while you wait for me." Her smile grew. Eirika smiled sheepishly in return. "She does her best, but she is suffering from the mountain's height. And I'm certain Gerik and Tethys can show the others around. They've certainly been here enough times, thanks to your adorable scamp of a student."

There was a gentle bit of herding then, with Saleh, Gerik, and Tethys taking charge of everyone. Quite a few had to be caught and carried as the whole thing of 'oh, dear gods, we are actually safe' caused them to lose the last of their energy. I actually ended up taking charge of the mounts alongside Kyle, half to figure out where they'd even go and half so that their riders could help with the others. It took a while to find a place among the nearby open spaces where they could stay, though. Goats and sheep already claimed the bits of land that _would_ have been perfect to leave them, and I had the additional difficulty of convincing the locals that Brynhildr wouldn't eat them. Or their children. Or the goats and sheep.

Finally, though, we did get everything settled, and people mostly convinced, I wandered the village, and almost instantly felt… off. Disconnected. We were all the way up in the mountains. The clothing the people were was different. The smells wafting through the air were different. The noise was different. But, at the same time, this was a quiet, out of the way, village. Just like home. Everything was different, and yet, it was similar enough to make my heart ache.

So, I lingered on the edges, watching children play before being dragged off for dinner and bed. Listening to adults gossiping over their day while they prepared for the evening. Teenagers finishing chores and flirting with their crushes as subtly as they thought they could. Couples hugging and kissing each other, the younger ones with the awkwardness of something 'new' and the older ones with the absentmindedness of well-formed habits. They acted just like the people back home. I wondered how many even still lived.

I shook my head, and tried to focus on other things, studying them. I expected some bit of annoyance or worry in their faces, but there was none. To them, we were simply guests, tired and injured, and they would help us as much as they could. I did notice a few gazes linger on Joshua, Tethys, Seth, and me, namely on our hair and eyes. It made me wonder…

"Excuse me."

"I know she looks scary, but she is very sweet and protective and you all are giving us a safe place to stay, so I promise she will do her very best to behave and will not eat anything that I do not personally feed her." I ratted it all off automatically, before even turning to see who it was. Upon seeing Saleh, though, I coughed awkwardly, embarrassed. "Um… hi?" I squeaked, fidgeting. "Uh…"

"I take it your Brynhildr makes them nervous?" he asked, smiling just slightly. I felt mortified, though. "That was an impressive litany."

"It wasn't helped that one of your very curious children thought it would be fun to throw something at her, so she growled and snapped in their direction?" Thankfully, their mother had been very understanding, once I explained.

"I will reassure them for you."

"Thank you." I smiled back tentatively and nodded to where a couple of the children were openly staring at my hair. "So, I'm curious. I've noticed Joshua, Tethys, Seth, and I have been getting extra attention, and I'm certain it's not simply them being very good-looking. I'm getting stares, after all. So, does Caer Pelyn have a saying about those with red hair and red eyes, like so many others?"

"They only have them because it used to be a very rare coloring, even before they were burned at the stake durnig the war with Fom… with the Demon King. People like making up stories about 'rare' things."

"I'm sure. But is there one here?"

"By saying, I am assuming you mean how Jehanna says 'those of red hair and eyes have blood in their souls and the luck to defy death', Rausten says 'beware the children of misfortune with their eyes of blood', and Grado says 'red eyes, take warning'?" He smiled slightly and shook his head. "In Caer Pelyn, our saying is 'trust those with red eyes, for they are the most honest and will always protect you'."

"Really?"

"Yes, though I do not know the origin of it. Likely, though, it is the Great Dragon's will."

"That's a very strange will." Still, I thought that might help explain why Myrrh would like me enough to give me a gift, despite my only talking with her once. That, and me reminding her of someone. "Do you believe it?"

"I only know, personally, Tethys and Ewan, but I believe it of Tethys. If he ever settles down, I'm certain Ewan will also prove the words true." His smile grew slightly. "Given the tales I've heard of your exploits, the songs I have heard of General Seth, and the few stories Joshua is inclined to share, I can believe it of you three as well, in time."

"Exploits?" I pointed at myself, confused. Seth and Joshua made perfect sense. Me, not so much. "What exploits?"

"Nearly drowning and getting a wyvern?"

"Oh, freaking hell!" I groaned and, to my surprise, he actually laughed. "Ugh, whatever, did you need something? Am I standing in the way?"

"Everyone is slowly settling in for the night, so I thought I'd show you where you'll stay."

"Oh, thank you." I followed him down the path, peering around curiously. "How is this working by the way? I was busy with mounts."

"Some families will share to free up their houses, and some storehouses will be cleared to open up the space. You will group up to split up the space, but you have already been claimed. Your things have been moved to your lodging for the evening."

"Oh, I figured we'd camp out." We hadn't had roofs over our heads since leaving behind Lord Klimt's mansion.

"Not tonight. You are our guests, and you are exhausted." Saleh led me to a small building, tucked along the edges of the town, and opened the door for me. "Food is also being prepared, so relax before dinner."

"Really?" I frowned, feeling unsettled. I wasn't used to strangers being so helpful, even before the war made everything crazy. "I should-"

"Rest. You are guests. None of you are working tonight." He nudged me inside. "You share with Princess Eirika, Princess Tana, and…" He trailed off, frowning slightly. "Lady L'arachel? Princess?"

"Wow, you've only been in her company for a few days, and you've already figured it out." I had to laugh. I just had to. "She won't admit to anything, though, so no title for now."

"I see." He smiled, again slightly. He wasn't the most expressive of people. "Regardless…"

"Right, right, rest. Be spoiled. I give; I give!" I even put up my hands in surrender. I still felt unsettled, but I knew when I was on the losing end of an argument. "Thanks, Saleh."

"It is no trouble." He left then, likely to show others where they'd be sleeping for the night.

I thought about sneaking away to try and help, but then decided to look around the place instead. Based on how it was one large open space, I guessed this was actually one of the 'storehouses' Saleh mentioned that had been cleared for us. I wasn't sure for what, since it had windows on the left and right walls, both giving a fairly good view of the path, but it had to be. It was too simple of a building to be a house. Besides those windows, there was literally nothing else of note, besides the piles of blankets and pillows and... and, well, I couldn't help but smile when I noticed the clean clothes stacked neatly where we could easily see them. Unable to help myself, I immediately changed into a shirt and skirt, even though I knew I'd change out again whenever I got around to taking a bath. It just felt so nice to wear soft, clean clothes. Village clothes, things not designed to have armor worn over them. Clothes lovingly made, and not repaired a thousand times because scrubbing out blood made them threadbare or they'd been ripped by blades and arrows. Clothes that I might've worn, back home.

My brief bit of relief died, though, when I looked to the saddlebags tucked in the back corner. And they weren't 'just' ours. At least, it wasn't 'just' mine. After picking out useful bits, no one was quite sure what to do with the saddlebags Joshua and I had gathered. Leaving or destroying them felt wrong. So, they just came with us as 'spares', with the quiet acknowledgement that we couldn't really afford to leave any sort of materials behind. I personally used General Glen's to hide some of my more treasured things, like Dad's notebooks or the vial of susinum perfume Joshua gave me. But even with scrubbing, there was still blood encrusted into the leather, a permanent testament of what happened to the previous owner. Just as no matter how much I scoured the two saddles we carried with our supplies, I could still see the shadows of their riders, dead bodies leaning over the edges.

Feeling gloomy, I reached into General Glen's saddlebags and pulled out the sunstone, a habit I'd developed ever since he died. It, at least, had been easy to clean, and it sparkled even in this dim light. I wasn't sure how much I liked that, though. I knew these stones were given to the generals by Emperor Vigarde. That the blood could be so easily wiped away… it really just made me think of how little Emperor Vigarde likely cared. Someone who employed Valter, who possibly set up General Glen to be a sacrifice… or maybe that had just been Valter wanting blood. Regardless, it made me think of how little this gem, and Emperor Vigarde, cared about the general who could've helped us. The Grado General who had believed us, and let us go. Who had let _me_ go, three times.

"He had a brother, didn't he?" I mused aloud, tucking the stone back into the saddlebag. "I wonder how he's doing." The pain of losing a sibling… that hurt a lot. General Glen never mentioned his parents, but then again, we hadn't talked all that much. I hoped he still had them. I hoped his brother wasn't alone. It sucked being alone. It was an emptiness that gnawed at you until you were nothing but exhaustion and motions. It was a chill that no amount of heat could alleviate. "I hope that I can meet him off the battlefield. He should at least get his brother's stuff back."

"Who are you talking to?" L'arachel skipped in then, smiling brightly. "They have so many healing herbs here!" she gushed, bouncing, completely oblivious to my dark mood. "We can make so many more elixirs and we have alternates for our medicines and-"

"And remember to breath." I had to snark, but thankfully, it didn't cut her enthusiasm at all. I had no idea where in the world she got her energy, though. I'd pay to learn the secret. "I was thinking aloud about nothing important."

"If you say so?" She looked confused for a brief moment before squealing. "Your clothes are so pretty!" She darted over and poked at my sleeves. My rather plain sleeves, to be perfectly honest. "Wow…"

"There's others." I pointed to the pile, feeling confused. The clothes were simple, made for everyday wear and devoid of any embroidery to pretty them up. I loved them, of course, but I couldn't see why she'd gush. "Go ahead and change."

"That's so nice of them!" She changed quickly, though I was amused to see her slightly confused about how a couple of the buttons worked. She figured it out quickly, though. "This place is so… mmm… what's the word?"

"Quiet?"

"Yes, that!" She laughed, delighted, and took the ribbons out of her hair, letting her hair down from the constrained ponytail she typically wore. I smiled at how frizzy it was, but she didn't care one bit. "Quite quiet. I've never been to a place so quiet before. Have you?"

"Yes, I used to live in a place rather like this." I smiled sadly and, after checking the room, I leaned back against the wall. "It's a quiet contentment, a silence that needs no words. I wish I'd been more appreciative of it."

"What was the name?"

"It's name?" It took me a second to remember, and then longer to remember why that was. "It was called Rosewatch." I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "I don't know why; roses weren't even particularly common there. Though, I called it 'the village' after the pneumonia hit. It was just becoming 'Rosewatch' again when my sister died."

"Pneumonia?" She sat next to me, looking curious. "What pneumonia?"

"Um… are you asking what pneumonia is, or…?"

"My apologies. I just… I didn't know Renais had problems with pneumonia."

"It doesn't, normally. It was an odd year and… well, a lot of people caught it all at once. Too many for the tiny church and healers who serviced like… ten villages?" I shrugged. Her face scrunched up, like she couldn't comprehend having so few healers. But that made sense; Rausten was famous for the healers. "Unlike 'normal' pneumonia, it killed all ages. The very young, the very old, the ones who should've survived. I lost most of my friends to it. The few that didn't die… well, they ended up moving." It was just as well, really. Aside from Mary and Jacob, I honestly couldn't remember them. They were blurs in my head nowadays.

"That's horrible." Her curiosity faded for sympathy. "And your sister?"

"She had this illness, causing tumors in her lungs?" I smiled bitterly when she winced. "Yeah. She was too frail to survive the surgery, so she ended up suffocating."

"Were you with her?"

"Yeah. She was scared of being alone, and Orson, her husband, was away." I shuddered, remembering that horrible day. I still remembered Orson's horrible scream when he realized he'd returned too late. "Guess there's something about that Children of Misfortune thing, huh?"

"Absolutely not!" She seized my hands tightly and looked at me earnestly. I stiffened, startled. "I don't know why the gods would inflict such trials for you, but I know none of it is your fault. If anything, you lived because they love you. My uncle says that those blessed by the gods sometimes face difficulties, after all. Why, even Saint-Queen Latona was said to be outcast as a child due to the love the gods blessed her with." She smiled sweetly at me. "Yes, I'm sure that's it. And it is most silly to blame yourself for being loved, Emma. You had nothing to do with the tragedies in your life. Of course, that might… not be comforting." She sighed, smile fading. "But please, never say 'child of misfortune', Emma. None of it is your fault."

"Ha…" I had to smile back. It was tiny, but I had to smile. "Somehow, that holds a lot of weight from you." Maybe it was the earnestness in her face. She was as bad of a liar as Eirika, after all. "Though I can't help but feel bitter anyway."

"Of course. I'd be surprised if you just accepted it. 'Just accepting' things when life is harsh is the worst." Her smile returned, softer than before. "It invites stagnation and apathy. Righteousness is something that must be worked towards, every day."

"Huh." I had no real reply to that. Mostly because I wasn't quite sure I agreed. There were simply things you had to 'just accept' in life. Then again, here was our group, fighting and pushing forward, because we refused to 'just accept' Grado's victory. "So, question, why would those beloved by the gods have… let's go with 'off' lives?"

"A combination of things, I think, but my uncle says that the gods are not all-knowing." She chuckled when I gave her an incredulous look. Rausten was also know for being highly religious; it was a theocracy after all. "Many disagree with him, but he states that they simply cannot. They granted us free will, and so, we shape the world around us for good and for ill. They interfere as they can, try to help us, but sometimes, their help causes more harm than good. They are not perfect, and cannot be, because they gave us the ability to walk our own path."

"Joshua said something similar. How the gods can't be perfect because humans aren't."

"He is most wise, when he's not doing that horrible gambling… whatever." She made a face, and I couldn't help but giggle. "Betting money like that…"

"It's a safer gamble than what we do in battle, L'arachel."

"That is for righteousness. Whyever would anyone want to gamble for something like coin?" She sighed heavily, and I decided against pointing out that a 'commoner' probably wouldn't say that. It was almost funny how much she thought she had us fooled. Funny and… a little endearing. "Oh, whatever. How did we get on this topic anyway?"

"You asked about my past, and unfortunately, I bring the mood down when that comes up." I glanced down, noticing she was still holding my hands. "So, you mention your uncle a lot. Did your parents die too?"

"Yes." L'arachel's eyes grew sad then. "They died when I was but an infant. There was a terrible raid from the Darkling Woods, horrific monsters. They went out and fought, defending the people, but they perished in the process."

"Sounds a bit like my parents." I had to laugh, but it was a bitter one. "My dad died protecting his king, King Fado, from an assassin. My mother died saving some children from drowning. I remember her to a degree, but I had next to no memories of him."

"It doesn't diminish the pride I feel, but oh, what I wouldn't give to have actually met them. Just once."

"Yeah, I've some of my dad's notebooks and… he and I are far more similar than I ever could've guessed. I would've loved to have talked to him."

"Who raised you, if I may ask? Your sister?"

"My sister, my eventual brother-in-law, and our neighbors." It had been happy, all things considered. I really wished I had been more appreciative. "I'm guessing your uncle raised you, though?"

"He did, and always treated me well. Dozla also raised me, always there for whatever whim I had. As such, I never felt lonely." She took my hands again, smiling softly. "But I think I understand, now, why you do not reach back. You're scared that they will slip through your fingers, aren't you? You were not so lucky that you could avoid loneliness."

"I'm not sure I like being so easily read." I made a face. "I'm admittedly not fond of being psychoanalyzed, to give you a bit of a warning." It was one thing with Eirika; she was my best friend. It was another thing with… just about everyone else.

"Haha, I'm sorry! But, I am pleased to understand. It confused me terribly." Her smile warmed. "So, I'll reach out until you feel comfortable reaching back. I'm sure that's what the others decided too. You are still healing. Many of us are. And so, we wait for each other, because the bonds we forge are stronger than anything."

"That's…" I couldn't believe she said all of that with a straight face. My face burned just from hearing it, so I quickly changed the subject to the only thing I could think of. "How have you been with the thinning air?"

"I've been most fine?" She tilted her head, confused. "Why?"

"Well…" I grinned at her, warming to the idea. I twisted my hands to catch hers and stood up, tugging her with me. "How would you like to fly? There's still enough light for Brynhildr."

"Really?!" Her eyes lit up instantly, sparkling even. "Oh, I would love it!"

"Okay. Let's get a quick flight in, then, before dinner."

"Yay~!" She laughed, clapping her hands. "Let's go! Let's go!"

L'arachel laughed practically through the whole flight, but it was impossible to be annoyed by the sound. It was bright and warm, incredibly genuine, and absolutely infectious. I wanted to learn how to laugh like that again. But, for now, I could say that I could get used to the sound. Eventually.

* * *

Dinner had been a lovely array of wild vegetables and some sort of stew that had been so good I nearly cried. Neimi begged for the recipe and we swore we'd try to make it, when we next had enough food to do so. Afterwards, we all lined up for baths, blessedly warm for the first time in days, and everyone settled down for the night. There was a brief attempt for us four to stay up and gossip, but we barely got two words out before we just passed out.

At some point, though, I woke up all at once. No trace of grogginess whatsoever. I frowned, pushing myself up out of my bedroll-blanket-hodgepodge-mess of a bed. Next to me, Eirika mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't wake, even when I stood up. Tana, on my other side, was splayed out, having kicked off part of her blankets in the process. I fixed them and checked on L'arachel, biting back a laugh as she mumbled something about the 'beautiful banisher of darkness'. I pulled the blanket a little higher on her shoulder and decided to check outside, just in case.

It was a bit chilly, and I was tempted to dart back just for the warmth, but I walked around, keeping an eye on the sky. But nothing unusual stood out. The stars sparkled serenely and the moonlight streamed down without a care. The village was quiet, filled with the sounds of skittering animals in the distance. Nothing different from a typical night in a village.

Some bits of movement did finally catch my attention, and I frowned, darting for it as quietly as I could. Which probably wasn't very quiet, but I at least didn't knock anything over. I felt silly, though, when I made it to the center of the village and realized that I'd just been panicking. The 'movement' had just been Saleh and Gerik talking as they walked.

"Your grandmother is such a kind lady," Gerik laughed, stretching his arms above his head. "Don't know why you don't call her that, though. You're the only one to use her name, and you're her _actual_ grandson."

"She doesn't mind," Saleh answered, frowning slightly. "You are the only one who thinks it's odd."

"I'm the only one willing to tell you I think it's weird. You should get her a gift."

"I don't know what she likes."

"Oh, come on! She'd love getting a gift from you. Again, you're her precious and adorable grandson."

"If you say so."

"I do." Gerik's smile faded as he brought his arms down. "Saleh, are you sure you want to come along?"

"What do you mean?" Saleh's frown faded. "I said I would."

"Yes, but I'm making sure. We're not going to be fighting just monsters. We'll be killing humans too." Gerik looked at Saleh worriedly. Saleh's expression became even more stoic, and completely unreadable. "I know Zabba's death still haunts you."

"I still do not know why you do not hate me for that."

"I'm a mercenary. You cross blades with allies, and you fight alongside foes. It's part of the job." He shrugged, slinging an arm around Saleh's shoulders. "I mean; I'll admit. When you set him aflame, I wanted to kill you. I thought of nothing but avenging him. But then I took a bad wound, and you're the one who saved me."

"I hadn't wanted to kill him." Saleh's voice shook slightly. "I just wanted to drive you all away from Caer Pelyn. So, I simply…"

"You misjudged and he charged ahead. And afterwards, you saved my life, and helped me get back to Jehanna. We became friends, and that's the truth of it." Gerik smiled. "I trust you. Don't doubt that."

"And I trust you. You are my friend, and you have saved me time and time again since that day."

"That's how friends work." Gerik's smile faded. "Which is why I'm worried. War isn't so easy that you'll always fight evil people."

"I am prepared, this time. I will not pretend it does not worry me, but I know that this is necessary."

"All right. If it starts getting to you, though, you let me know. You're inclined to keep everything locked up, but that's not good for this." He clapped Saleh on the back, hard enough to make him stumble. "Maybe I'll finally get around to toughening you up, mountain man!"

"I am suddenly starting to dread this."

"Hey, you managed a joke!" Gerik grinned and half-turned, possibly to lead the way back. Then he fully turned to face me because I, like an idiot, was just standing there in plain sight, openly eavesdropping. "Lass?"

"Um… hi?" I squeaked, waving awkwardly. Saleh also turned to face me, looking curious. "Sorry, I saw movement and got worried and… yeah, sorry."

"It's fine, lass." Gerik shrugged and walked over to me, Saleh following. "But what are you doing up in the first place? Tethys checked on you girls not all that long ago and all of you were fast asleep."

"I don't know. I just woke up and wanted to check around." I glanced up at the sky worriedly. "It wasn't that long ago that we had a psychopath trailing us."

"He can't make it here. Caer Pelyn's got weird magic protections. Even if he flew over, he wouldn't see it or… something." Gerik frowned and looked to Saleh. "Is that how it works?"

"It does now, since we strengthened the wards," Saleh replied, shrugging. "They're difficult to set, but worth the trouble. The Great Dragon taught us."

"Wish he'd taught that to more people," I muttered, unable to help it. I did have the grace to squirm when he looked at me with an unreadable expression. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. But anyway, Gerik, everything about this war has been weird. If anyone could 'see through' or whatever, I'm willing to bet Grado will."

"It would require a mage of great power, and the stamina to reach all the way up here. Not impossible, but unlikely."

"It was also 'unlikely' that Grado invaded, but look what happened." I winced and facepalmed. This was not the way to talk to someone who was seriously helping us out. "No, sorry, never mind. Thinking of Valter irritates the hell out of me."

"I don't know much about this Valter, I am afraid. I'm sure I'll learn before long, and likely agree to you." Saleh studied me for a moment. "You'll need to calm your mind before you try to sleep again."

"Yeah, probably." I shuddered, remembering the previous encounters with Valter. It made my skin crawl, knowing he'd been so damn close. "Maybe I could shoot or something. Though, that would require getting my bow and arrows out..."

"There is something we call 'Valega' here in Caer Pelyn that we use to calm our spirits."

"Valega?"

"Yes. 'To know the harmony of heaven and earth, body and spirit. To contemplate one's self and to contemplate the world and envision all creation. Thus, to be enlightened'."

"So, it's like meditation or something?"

"Very close." He smiled. Slightly. Like always. "You align your desires with the world around you, and by learning the vastness of creation, you come to know yourself. By transcending your selfish needs, you wish for a better world, and send out that prayer."

"So, like a meditative prayer?" I smiled bitterly. "I think I'm too selfish for something like that, but it sounds interesting."

"What makes you say that?"

"That I'm too selfish? I'm just fighting to protect 'my' world, and I destroy other people's worlds to do it. Not like... a lot of the people here, really."

"But, to follow that way of thinking, in doing so, you save the 'worlds' of many others, yes? The worlds of those who make up 'your' world."

"…I… well…" I didn't really have a retort to that. In a way, he was right, and I felt a little uncomfortable by that, for some reason. "Um…"

"From what I heard, you disregarded a pretty decent plan and put yourself in a lot of danger just to make sure Princess Tana didn't have to suffer losing a sibling," Gerik helpfully added. He grinned as I blushed, embarrassed. "And I've heard you went along with Princess Eirika in the first place partially to find your brother in law, and partially to help make sure she didn't lose family."

"You make it sound better than it is!" I protested. My face was burning badly by this point, and not just for the unexpected praise. I was mortified that twice in one day, I was being so easily read. "Way better!"

"And you, lass, convince yourself that you are worse than you are. Willing to bet it's due to survivor guilt. Gods knows I go through bits of self-hatred for the same reason, and no matter how confidant Joshua acts, I can see he doesn't like himself much either." He patted my head, careful to not mess up my braid. Ephraim had braided it for me again. "You're fine, lass. People are complicated, both selfish and selfless. And that's a good thing. Being too selfish means you're nothing but a parasite, but being too selfless means you're nothing but an empty shell."

"But…"

"Anyway, though, Saleh brought up Valega because he thinks it might help you settle yourself a bit, lass, and not just for tonight. He did the same with me during one of my bouts of 'I am the worst person ever', and I'll admit, the few times I've done it, I did feel calmer. I've other things that work better now, but it was, and is, helpful." He smiled. "Here, you're awake. All three of us can do it, and you can see if it at least helps settle you enough to sleep."

"I… oh, fine." I pouted, and he laughed. "If, Saleh, you really are willing?"

"Of course," Saleh reassured. His smile actually grew to more than 'just slightly'. "Let's find a quiet spot. It's much easier for beginners if you have quiet."

It took a long while to actually settle into this Valega, but to my surprise, I did feel better. More than I would've thought, considering how little I thought of prayers. I'd probably try it again, just to see if it worked after the first time. But it did make me feel like the world wasn't quite so much on my shoulders, if nothing else. I appreciated that.

* * *

The second time I woke up that night, it was because someone was shaking me. It took a couple of blinks to realize it was Eirika shaking me, but the worried look on her face chased all the grogginess away. "Sorry," she whispered. "But I thought I heard something outside."

"Let's check the windows," I whispered back, already pushing myself up. "Which direction?"

"I think this way." She led the way to the left window, and both of us crouched by it, carefully peeking outside. "Should I wake Tana and L'arachel?"

"Let's see who it…" I shifted a bit, and then grinned when I caught sight of long red hair not far away. "I see Joshua. I'm going to open the window."

"Here, I'll help." It was a good thing she did. The window was hard to open, thanks to all the dust that jammed itself into the cracks. "Ugh…"

"Clearly, this hasn't moved in a while." I struggled to not cough, and rubbed my watering eyes. "I hate dust." I leaned out, intending on calling out. But then I leaned back sharply because I realized Joshua was talking to someone: Natasha.

"What's wrong?" Eirika, however, leaned out too and frowned. "I'm sure they won't mind you-"

"No, no, quiet!" I ducked down and crawled over to the door, because that was closer to where Joshua and Natasha were. "I want to eavesdrop!"

"Why?"

"Because Joshua confessed a few days ago, but Natasha hasn't given him a reply yet?" Of course, the confession was that Joshua was the Crown Prince of Jehanna, but Eirika didn't need to know that part yet. Joshua would tell when he wanted people to learn.

"Oh!" Eirika giggled and quickly joined me by the door, pushing it open slightly. We both jerked back when we realized just how close they were, but neither were paying attention to us, so we quietly peeked out again, keeping as still and quiet as we could.

We were lucky; it didn't seem like they'd moved past initial greetings. "So, you were checking in on them?" Natasha asked, laughing softly. I could barely see her expression from here, thanks to angles, but I caught the hint of a smile. "You're such a fretter."

"Is that something a healer should accuse someone of?" Joshua joked back. I could barely see his face as well, but he held himself mostly relaxed. I did notice the slight nervous fidgeting, though, which he hid by messing with his cuffs. "Besides, dear petal falls into trouble a lot, and if someone made it through, the house with three, sorry two, princesses is going to be a target."

"Three… ah, so L'arachel is a princess? I figured she is of noble blood, at least, but I wasn't sure how highly ranked she was."

"Many in the group strongly suspect, but I know for a fact. I've actually been to Rausten, lovely place when they weren't threatening to burn me for my demonic heritage, and I've seen her in the distance. Plus, Rausten loves their princess and love saying her name."

"I suppose she should've changed it."

"Yeah, typically when you hide, you need to go under a different name. Particularly when you're a runaway royal." Joshua managed to keep a neutral expression. I, however, nearly cracked a rib laughing. Based on how Natasha's smile widened suddenly, I knew she was as well. "But she's having fun, and despite her bombastic nature, it's clear she's eager to learn and pay attention. I see no harm in letting her believe she's got people fooled for a while longer. Not sure why she thinks she's fooling anyone, though. She is the worst as disguising herself."

"You're playing the big brother to quite a few of the royals."

"Well, I'm significantly older. The next oldest is his royal seriousness, sorry, Innes…" He grinned when Natasha giggled. "No one can keep a straight face when I say that. It's marvelous, really. Not even Gilliam did."

"You did not say that in front of the Frelians."

"Hey, they laughed!"

"What are you two doing?" Tana's sudden question nearly made both Eirika and I yelp and we jerked back to see her, and L'arachel, looking at us weirdly. "Is something outside?" Tana continued, frowning. "You could've-"

"Shush, shush!" Eirika hissed. She smiled to soften the words. "We're eavesdropping."

"On?"

"Natasha and Joshua. Joshua confessed a few days ago, apparently, and-"

"Oh, let me listen in too!" Tana tucked herself between Eirika and me. "L'arachel, hide on Emma's other side! We can stay out of sight that way."

"You've done this before."

"How do you think I find out anything in the castle? Innes and I used to make a game of it, before he got that stick up his butt."

"Quiet, quiet, I want to listen," I half-grumbled. I peeked outside again and noticed they were still there and, thankfully, hadn't noticed us. "Everyone perfectly silent, okay?"

"So, Joshua, while I have you…" Natasha was saying. Her smile had faded at some point for a serious look. So had Joshua's. "I wanted to continue our previous discussion, if you do not mind."

"If you're certain, then of course not," Joshua answered instantly. He messed a bit with the hair by his face. "I don't want you to feel rushed, though."

"Oh, I had my answer a while ago. I did take the time to think because I felt like you wouldn't accept an immediate answer." Natasha's face softened with a smile, and I knew what her next words would be. "I know life in Jehanna will be very different than I'm used to, and very rough. But I would like to try."

"You… do?"

"Yes, silly man. I love you." Her smile warmed. We four eavesdroppers had to grab onto each other to help block our happy giggles. "I'm happy with you. So, I would like to live with you. In Jehanna."

"Natasha…" Joshua held still for a split-second before snatching her in a hug. "Thank you. I _will_ make you happy."

"Is that a bet?"

"We can phrase it as one, if you'd like." He pulled away just far enough to rest his forehead against hers. His smile was softer than I'd ever seen, with quite of bit of relief in it. "But what would be the wager?"

"Our future." Natasha shyly returned the hug, clinging to his sleeves. "Our happiness."

"High stakes. I definitely can't lose."

"Of course not. You won the last."

"The last… oh, right, that one." His smile grew. "Well, this one will be a little tougher. I have to work for it. But I will. I promise."

There was another whisper, too quiet for us to catch, and the two leaned in to kiss. At that point, though, we really couldn't stop our giggles, so we quickly shut the door and Eirika and I just barely got the window closed too before the four of us gave up and just started laughing hard, sitting among the pillows and blankets. Eirika and I especially, but then again, we knew Joshua and Natasha better than Tana and L'arachel'. My own amusement, and near breathless happiness, was tempered with a bit of bitter sadness. I still had no idea what to do about my own feelings for Ephraim, after all. Though, admittedly, circumstances really didn't lend to actually sitting down and thinking about it.

But I made myself ignore that quiet little voice. Joshua and Natasha were officially dating. They'd be happy together. I was ecstatic for it!

"Now, remember everyone, we keep quiet until they let it be known," I pointed out once our giggling died. All of us were red in the face, and Eirika was even hiccupping a little. "Seriously, not one word."

"Right, right, after all, Natasha is the quiet sort," L'arachel instantly agreed. She then sighed gustily, a hand on her cheek. "Ah, young love~"

"You do know they're both older than us, right? Natasha is three years older than Eirika and me. Joshua's six."

"It's still _young_ love though!" L'arachel said the words so dramatically that it sparked another round of giggling. I hoped to everything that Joshua and Natasha weren't right outside the door, or if they were, they continued to be distracted by each other. "When they do let people know, though, we should get them a gift!"

"A gift?"

"We do that in Rausten, as a hope for their continued happiness!" L'arachel hummed a little in thought. "Maybe some sort of perfume? Natasha loves frankincense I've noticed."

"Natasha loves it because that's Joshua's preferred scent, like how Tethys wears geranium. Meaning she'll have plenty of access to it nowadays!"

"And I don't think buying perfume for someone dating a Jehannan is the right way to go about it either," Tana added, voice wobbling from her suppressed laughter. "Perfume is one of Jehanna's primary exports, right?"

"It is, and Joshua, Tethys, Gerik, and Marisa all carry a lot," Eirika confirmed. Her hiccups finally faded, and her eyes watered a bit from laughing too hard. "So, let them handle any perfumes."

"Right, Marisa carries this lovely perfume that's a mix of roses and jasmine and something else that she can't remember." Tana grinned, bouncing a little. "It's lovely, though. She let me wear a bit yesterday, and I felt so calm and awesome!"

"Emma and I talked about it earlier, but if we get a chance, we should shop for perfumes in Jehanna."

"We should!"

"Oh, that reminds me," L'arachel suddenly said. She twisted so that she could look right at me. "You carry a vial of perfume too, don't you, Emma?"

"I do, though I only open it to smell it," I replied. I didn't want to use it up. It was the only vial I had, until I somehow had enough coin and time to buy more. "Why?"

"What scent is it? I was near when you last opened it and it smelled absolutely heavenly."

"It's called susinum."

"Susinum? That's one of the really expensive ones, right?"

"It is. It's one of the most expensive ones Jehanna sells." I smiled, though, unable to help it. I just had so many soothing memories associated with the smell. "It was my mother's favorite, so, when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, Joshua gave me one of the vials he keeps. It's his mother's favorite too."

"Wow, I wonder how he could afford it." L'arachel's eyes were wide with awe. "The cheapest I have ever seen for a vial that size is 4200 gold."

"It was _what_?" That was… I didn't even… "Whoa, no, no, no! It's not _that_ expensive! Victor, a merchant I know, sells it for 2500, at worst." Or he did trades, which is how Monica and I typically 'bought' it. He loved Monica's handmade quilts, and I'd run errands for him. "And that's still giving him a good profit. Though, granted, he could've been lying; Victor's a friend. But I wouldn't think it would be that great of one!"

"Wait, really?" She frowned. "Are you certain?"

"L'arachel, that's more than three times the cost of a good sword!" And I knew that for a fact. Orson favored swords, and I'd gone shopping with him a few times. "You can get silver blade, the most expensive non-custom sword, for 1800 gold. Less if you're good at haggling."

"Actually, that's more than four times," Tana noted. She hummed a little in thought. "It's also more than four times as expensive as a longbow, the bows specially made to increase range. That's around 2000 for a basic, not customized, one. I think."

"Tana, did you go shopping for a bow?" Eirika asked, laughing a little. Poor L'arachel looked horribly confused. "For Innes?"

"No, Innes buys his own, always. The closest I've ever done is buy him things he needed to maintain his bows." Tana smiled. "However, Father bought some to bolster our armory while you were looking for Ephraim, and he let me check his math."

"I always forget how good you are at math. You're far better at it than me."

"That's because I had Innes to teach me."

"Right, Innes is the best of us at mathematics."

"I wonder if he can calculate why it would be so much more expensive," L'arachel grumbled. She sulked a bit, but at the same time, she did look curious. "I know relations have been bad between Rausten and Jehanna for years, but Jehanna doesn't sell directly. It's the merchants and traders."

"The price just could've jumped significantly since I last had to buy one," I pointed out. I smiled, though, a bit amused. "Why not ask Joshua in the morning? He'd know the current price better than me. And if he's startled, then I think some merchants have been taking advantage of those tensions."

"True." L'arachel's confused annoyance faded for a smile. "Ah, but here we are rambling. Morning will catch us unawares if we don't go to sleep!"

It took a moment for us to fall back asleep, though. We were all a little giddy still, and so, we absently plotted out things we'd want to shop for in Jehanna. All frivolous things. Things that we probably wouldn't be able to buy with a war going on. But it was still fun to pretend, and it let us fall asleep with smiles on our faces. It was enough.

* * *

The third time I woke up during the night, I decided that having a full night's rest while 'safe' was apparently so damn foreign to me that my body simply couldn't comprehend it. It insisted there must be something wrong and, thus, kept waking up to deal with the imagined threat. I facepalmed as I sat up, annoyed with how nervy I was, and decided to just go check on Brynhildr. If something was wrong, then she'd let me know in an instant. If not, then she'd give me a funny look and comfort me. I won either way. Hopefully.

The village was perfectly quiet as I walked to the small field a short distance away from the houses where all the mounts were resting. A few were awake, grazing, but most were asleep, like sane people. Brynhildr was among those with sanity, curled up around Achaeus and Titania, Tana and Vanessa's pegasi. As I walked, one of the horses blocked my path briefly, and it took a second to recognize Seth's Tyr. But I smiled and gently petted its nose to reassure it, and so, it let me continue my walk. I almost laughed when I noticed Tyr was checking on the other horses, guarding them just as Seth protected and guided the other riders. Like horse, like rider, it seemed.

Brynhildr stirred awake when I got closer, lifting her head to study me. She waited until I was just in front of her before leaning down to nuzzle me. "Hey, sweetie," I whispered, petting her face. She crooned, returning the greeting. "No troubles, right?" She nodded, not even bothering to look up to check. "Okay. I'm sorry for disturbing you." She not-purred, as if to say 'ridiculous, you never bother me', but did settle down again to go back to sleep. It was clear she had no plans to move until morning actually came, nor did she think she'd have to.

"Oh, looks like you had the same idea I did." Ephraim's voice made me turn, and he smiled ruefully at me. "So, how many times have you woken up tonight?" he asked lightly. "I'm on my fourth."

"I'm on my third, but the second one was Eirika's fault," I replied, smiling back. It was a relief to know someone else kept waking up. I didn't feel quite as ridiculous. "So, what idea was it that you had? I can't agree or disagree until I know."

"And here I thought you'd disagree on principle." His smile widened and he nodded at the sleeping Brynhildr. "Well, I figured she'd let us know if there was something wrong, so I'd save myself a lot of trouble and paranoia if I checked on her."

"Then, yes, I did have the same idea." I began walking away, and he followed. "Did Tyr stop you when you entered?"

"No, Tyr knows me. Seth taught me to ride on him." Ephraim grimaced. "Because of course he'd have me learn on the most stubborn of all the horses in the stables."

"Perhaps he thought Tyr was the only one who could match your stubbornness?"

"Tyr is more stubborn than _Eirika_ , damn it." He grumbled a bit more, and I had to giggle. "I'm surprised he blocked your path, though. I wonder if Seth told him to guard the area whenever he was last up."

"So, others have been waking up randomly?"

"Innes is on his fifth time. I left him and Joshua talking about desert survival."

"How many times has Joshua woken up?"

"This is the third, but it's our fault. Innes and I were having a very long overdue conversation." Ephraim's eyes darkened slightly in sadness. "Very long, apparently."

"About what?"

"Mmm… forgive me, but a lot of it is very personal." He tried to smile, but it was weighed down by guilt. "Among things is that I've not taken our… well, for instance, I always thought our rivalry was playful, a means to help each other improve. Innes took it very seriously."

"Innes takes everything seriously." Still, I rested a reassuring hand on his arm. It was always the worst thing, learning that you might've accidentally hurt the people you cared about. "But no worries. You don't have to force yourself to say more. Was Joshua annoyed that you woke him up?"

"He did mention that it sounded like a talk we should've had alcohol for." Ephraim crossed his arms, and glanced down. I looked down as well, curious, and smiled when I noticed he was timing his steps to mine, so that he wasn't going too fast. "But he was in a good mood, so I don't think he minded. I wonder what happened during his walk."

"A very good thing, of course." I smiled brightly, giggling again. "No, don't even ask. I shall never tell."

"So, you know?"

"Little sisters are amazing at ferreting out things, and I have a lifetime of experience with Monica and Orson." And also very convenient luck with best friends waking up with perfect dramatic timing, it seemed.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Eirika and I might be twins, but she is the younger one, and I can't hide a damn thing from her." He rolled his eyes and I snickered. "Oh well. Eirika knows how to keep secrets."

"That she does." The wind blew then, and I shivered, hugging myself. Sleeping clothes and mountains didn't agree well. Jehannan nights were going to be rough. "Oh, by the way, that talisman works."

"Does it?"

"Yeah, it blunts magic significantly." I smiled up at him, shrugging. "Don't know how. But it does. Any ideas on how to thank her?"

"Not really. She seems to enjoy just simple affection, like hugs and head pats. And the quiet." He looked around the village, eyes soft. "She didn't mention Caer Pelyn, but I'm sure she must love it here."

"Do you?"

"It's… peaceful?" He sounded like he was searching for things to praise about it, and I snickered. "And it's quiet. Too much so for me, I'm afraid. I'm used to sleeping in Ivroria, where there was always some sort of bustle no matter the hour, or camping outside where you could hear all the nighttime critters scurrying about."

"And Orson snores."

"He does. I swore a bear was attacking us once!" He laughed, and after a moment, I had to join in. After all, I'd once thought the same thing. "Not to mention the other towns and cities I've been too. I've never visited a village so quiet before."

"You likely only visited those on the road, which cater to travelers. If you went off the road, to villages like mine, you'd see this is rather common, when peaceful."

"Yeah…" His smile faltered and faded. "I used to sneak out a lot, telling myself it was to learn about the people. But I only stuck to the main trading roads and the safe paths. I should've wandered off the trail, though, if I really wanted to learn."

"Yes, I suppose, except you are the Crown Prince and have many duties of your own."

"True. So, maybe I really should've paid attention to the lessons instead of plotting ways to escape." There was an awkward beat of silence before he changed the subject. "Have you ever been to Ivroria, Emma?"

"Four times, but only one was a good memory." I smiled sadly. "First time was for Dad's funeral. Second time was for Mom's. Third time was for Orson's knighting ceremony. Four time was for Monica's funeral. I was supposed to move there, though. Orson handling transporting things to there." I laughed, but it sounded hollow. All of that seemed like a long time ago. Another life entirely. "I suppose the noise would've taken me a while to get used to."

"Yeah, it would never be this quiet, but I'd love it if it could be so peaceful." He sighed, and looked up at the sky. "No, I'll make it. I'll restore Renais and regain its peace, one step at a time."

"My, my, that's a lofty goal." I had to tease, and he made a face. "Sorry. I really should stop needling you so much."

"No, don't. I clearly need the prodding. I should've had it more, growing up." He became thoughtful. "I wonder why everyone let me. Age of majority is sixteen in Renais. In retrospect, I really should've been yelled at more."

"Maybe they thought it could be afforded. Things were peaceful, after all." I shrugged. "You and Eirika tend to work as a unit, so maybe they just assumed that was how things would always be. I have no idea whatsoever."

"And most of the ones who knew are dead." He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I guess I just need to grow up on my own."

"All of us have to, whether we like it or not." All of us had to change and adapt to survive this war. I wasn't sure if some of the changes were 'good' or not, though. Those poisons were still on my mind, after all, and two years ago, you couldn't pay me to consider it. "It's the only way we'll liberate Renais, right?"

"Right." Another beat of silence fell, but this one felt a little different. It was awkward still, but in a different sense. Warmer. "So, I don't know when we'll return to do that. There's a lot going on, and if Eirika and Seth are correct, then Renais's sacred stone is perfectly safe." He glanced down at the bracelet he always wore, the red-gemed twin to Eirika's. "But, have you seen the castle gardens before, Emma?"

"No, I haven't." I started feeling rather nervous. "I've heard of them, of course, but I never had time to visit."

"They're the most peaceful place in the whole city, the closest it will ever get to this kind of quiet." He paused again, but smiled slightly. "So, when we return, will you let me show you around?"

"Is it so large I need a guide?" I had to tease. My only other option was to blush bright red and overthink it. "Then again, Monica did mention they were expansive."

"Renais prizes flowers, if you'll recall. So, it's the largest gardens in Magvel."

"I see." Despite my best efforts, a blush did start to creep across my face. This sounded like a… "But sure. When we return, I'd appreciate it if you showed me around."

"It's a promise then." His smile grew, warm and pleased. My blush burned, and it was a sheer miracle I didn't light up the damn night. "Ah, looks like you have someone waiting up for you."

"Huh?" It took a few seconds, a few too many, to remember that we'd been walking through Caer Pelyn and, based on location, he'd actually walked me back to where I'd been sleeping. And Eirika was in the doorway, hands clasped in front of her. "Oh, hey, Eirika."

"Hi, sorry," Eirika replied. She smiled gently, but I could still see the worry lingering in her eyes. I smiled back to try and reassure her. "I woke up and you weren't here. I was just about to come looking for you when I saw you and Ephraim walking up."

"No, I'm sorry, Eirika," I reassured, trying to not fidgt. I still felt horribly nervous and antsy, but now guilt was crawling in. It wasn't a very comfortable mix of emotions. "I went to check in on Brynhildr, and I met Ephraim there."

"And, like a proper gentleman, he walked you 'home'." Eirika giggled, grinning at her brother. "I knew those etiquette lessons would sink into your head eventually."

"So, like your knowledge of battle tactics, supplies, and mathematics?" Ephraim instantly retorted, rolling his eyes. He smiled gently at her, though. "Oh, wait."

"Oh, hush! I'm decent at math. Ladies of households are expected to handle the budgets."

"You go pale whenever things go beyond three digits."

"And your eyes glaze over whenever Innes talks about the mathematics involved with shooting an arrow."

"He's better at me when it comes to math. I've no shame in admitting that." Ephraim shrugged. "Regardless, though, you two should try to get more sleep."

"Same to you, brother. Pleasant dreams. Please do not let the cloth monster steal your leg."

"So long as you make sure it stays away from your arm." He grinned and gave her a hug before walking off, disappearing down the path.

"Cloth monster?" I had to ask, once he was a good distance away. It helped distract me from my still-there-but-thankfully-cooling blush. "The hell?"

"It's an old story Father used to tell us. I can't remember why, but when we were young, Ephraim had a habit of sleeping with a leg dangling off the edge of the bed, and I'd always have my arm out, so…" She shrugged, but then she smiled teasingly and nudged my side. "So? You're blushing. It's faint, but there."

"That is…" I thought about trying to brush it to the side, but the stubborn light in her eyes told me how impossible that would be. "He asked if he could show me the gardens, whenever we reclaim Renais?"

"Really? That's interesting." Her smile grew, perfectly serene and teasing. "That sounds like a date to me."

"Eirika…!" My face went red. Again. "You said you wouldn't tease!"

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't." Her smile became sympathetic. "What did you say, though?"

"…I told him yes?" I sighed gustily. "I'm going to have to think about this sooner than later, aren't I?"

"Maybe once we're done with Jehanna. Everything is rather focused there at the moment."

"True." I closed my eyes and nodded. "Actually, let's make that a promise. When Jehanna is secure, or whatever, I'll think on it and if I don't let you know…"

"Then I'll ask and help you through it." She took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "However, we should probably try to get these last hours of sleep. Who knows when we'll be able to sleep so long again?"

"Right." I glowered at the ground. "I was so perfectly calm, and then Ephraim completely ruined it."

"That's what love does, silly."

"I know, but I can be annoyed anyway."

She laughed at that, muffling the sound with her hand, and after a moment, I had to burst into giggles too. We had to stay outside a while to calm down before slipping back inside to go to sleep. We didn't want to wake Tana and L'arachel, after all.

* * *

 _Notes on Saleh:_

 _A 22 year old sage of Caer Pelyn, who gives the impression of being much older than he is. The grandson of Dara, Chief Elder of Caer Pelyn, and an unofficial member of Gerik's mercenaries._

 _Very powerful and skilled, with a near mastery of anima magic and a skill in staves that surpasses L'arachel. He says that Lute and Ewan can surpass him, but it's easy to see how powerful of an ally we've obtained._

 _Quiet and stoic, though once you pay attention, he can be easy to read. He's more emotive when around his 'family', though._

 _Notes on Ewan:_

 _Tethys's 15 year old brother, a prankster who, unlike most Jehannans, has a strong talent for magic. He followed Saleh and begged to be taught._

 _He's still in-training, so his power and skill leaves a lot to be desired, especially given how the battles are only getting stronger. Saleh, however, mentions Ewan's vast versatility and innate talent can prove useful, if he sat still long enough to learn._

 _He adores his 'family', all of Gerik's mercenaries, and is very protective of them._

* * *

Author's Note: Have official Joshua-Natasha. The information about L'arachel's parents comes from her supports with Eirika. The Gerik and Saleh conversation is based off their A support. L'arachel and Joshua gamble in their supports (big surprise) and amusingly L'arachel wins even when Joshua rigs it, reflecting her outrageous luck growth (she'll easily max out luck). There's no real mention of abandoned forts or ruins in this map, but the place where the boss holes up appears to be a temple, so I added a couple more to the area. The description of 'Valega' comes from Saleh's supports with Ewan and Eirika. In game, it's Dara/Grandmother who gives you the exposition (her name is only revealed in Saleh's supports with Ewan and Myrrh), but Emma would more likely hear it from Saleh in this context. Fomortiis's name is never mentioned in scripted dialogue during the game, revealed only by his battle screen when you finally fight him in the final chapter; Saleh, being a scholar, makes sense to know the actual name. Ewan is rather unique among the units in that he has the most (or one of the most) number of potential ending classes at 5 (Sage, Mage Knight, Druid, Summoner, and Super Trainee). The cost of the various objects (save for the susinum of course) do actually come from the game in the last scene. I took susinum's price from the price of a Luna tome, which is the most expensive non-secret shop item in the shops.

For anyone curious about why 'red hair, red eyes' gets singled out, it's based off of some beliefs about redheads in the real world. Fiery and hot tempered, burned for being unlucky/tainted, believed to be insane, would turn into vampires upon death, were witches who stole the fires of hell, believed to have 'no soul', among other things.

Next Chapter - Hamill Canyon


	21. Chapter 13) Hamil Canyon

Chapter 13) Hamill Canyon

* * *

 _We left Caer Pelyn and began the long trek down the mountains, into Jehanna. As we descend, we start noticing little hints of how close to the desert we are. The temperature gradually becomes harsh during the day, and shivering during the evening. The landscape below bleeds from greens and browns to yellows and whites. Jehanna is known as the land of the white dunes, which is where Queen Ismaire gets her 'title' from, and slowly, the landscape changes to reflect that._

 _According to Joshua, the fact that Queen Ismaire's 'title' describes her land and not herself is a way to set her apart from her husband, King Raphael. She rules with grace and honor, but she is not of the royal line. She rules 'in place' of her son, and her title is a reflection of that. I think that's rather sad, but Joshua says it's simply tradition. Of course, he says it with a growl, so I know it bothers him too._

 _We're almost in Jehanna. It's surprising, really. With everything that's happened, I almost expected we'd never make it. But we did. We're here. All of those traps, and yet, we were still here. Maybe there was something to this after all. Or not._

* * *

"This is amazing!" Eirika laughed as the wind whipped past. She held onto me a little tighter as Brynhildr made a fast turn. "This is way more fun when you're not dealing with an injured person!"

"Think we should just offer this to people who finish their chores?" I half-joked, laughing as well. Brynhildr, however, growled in protest. "Fine, fine, only those you like, Brynhildr."

"Like me!" Eirika giggled, and leaned to the side. "Wow, all the colors…"

"Don't lean too far. I guarantee you won't like a freefall!" That said, I had to be a little mischievous and had Brynhildr make another sharp turn to startle Eirika. She shrieked and I laughed. "See?"

"Mean!" Still, she was laughing again before long. "Gods, everything is just so beautiful up here. All this color, all this vibrancy!"

"Well, there's not all that much color ahead. Sort of." We were in the mountains where the last of the greens bled into the distant white sands of Jehanna, after all. "But I agree. The view from above is wonderful."

As soon as we reached grasslands and the last of the mountains, thus marking when we were technically within Jehanna's borders, our weary camp decided to stop and rest. Seizing my chance, since I wasn't sure how busy we'd be in the future, I secured permission from Seth to go on that promised flight with Eirika. Both of us enjoyed ourselves immensely, and despite my teasing, my eyes kept falling onto the desert sands. I couldn't help it or the smile that crawled onto my face. It was ridiculous, given how serious things were, but I couldn't deny how happy I was to finally see Mom's homeland. I couldn't deny feeling a little excited at seeing the home Joshua loved so much. If only circumstances were better... then I could've really enjoyed it.

"Wow, Jehanna is pretty…" Eirika breathed. She leaned forward, resting her chin on my shoulder, and took in the view. "This is my first time seeing it. Have you been before?"

"No, I haven't," I replied. I pulled the reins to tell Brynhildr to slow down, mostly so that we could linger a bit over the view. "Mom talked about maybe making a trip to visit Queen Ismaire, but it never happened. They were friends, you see. Former mercenary partners."

"But your mom moved to Renais?"

"Yeah, to marry and live with Dad. When he died, she chose to remain, because of Monica and me. Renais is an easier country to raise children, particularly when you're missing an eye."

"Huh. So, if things had gone a little differently, you'd live in Jehanna, as a… Jehanna does have nobility, right? They have a king and queen."

"They do, yes. The only potential 'difference' is that famous mercenaries are given just as much, if not more, respect as a noble. Don't be surprised if people start calling Gerik 'lord' or something if we visit villages, or if they start staring in awe. Famous mercenaries bring in a lot of money to Jehanna, which means they help feed everyone, so they're local heroes."

"Something tells me Gerik hates that."

"Gerik likes to pretend he's nothing special."

"Unless it's his group."

"Unless it's his group. He can accept being special to them."

"Of course. They're his family." Eirika giggled again, and she leaned back and to the side to look over the scenery. "I've heard all sorts of horror stories about Jehanna. Based on that, I always thought it was a dismal place. But it's really beautiful, isn't it? Harsh, but beautiful."

"Let's see if you and I agree with that after a day of marching through!" Still, I had to agree. Just by sight alone, I could see why Joshua loved it so. I knew I'd understand even more when I interacted with the people. Maybe. "That's going to be fun. It's already scorching and we're not quite in the thick of the desert yet."

"Yeah, we'll have to change our marching pattern, I think." Eirika hummed in thought and leaned forward again to rest her cheek on my shoulder. "We probably need to get back, though. I think we've been gone longer than we told Seth."

"Probably." I sighed, but laughed when Brynhildr growled a protest. "You can complain to Seth, sweetie. He's only trying to keep everyone safe."

"I'd pay to see that argument. I think Seth would still win, though."

"Does Seth ever lose?"

"Not where people can see. He takes his duties _very_ seriously." Eirika scrunched up her face. "Very. Seriously. Maybe I should order him to take relaxation lessons."

"Hilarious as that would be, I'm not sure we have the time." I might've said more, but Brynhildr growled and tensed under me. She'd sensed/heard something. "Oh, great. Eirika, hang on."

Brynhildr went even higher, and Eirika winced behind me, already feeling the effects of the thinned air. I didn't, though, and I narrowed my eyes, as Brynhildr flew over the path we'd planned on taking to Jehanna. Large mountains and thinning forests formed a bottleneck path, with a colored sign marking the start of one of Jehanna's roads. But forts, both permanent and temporary, dotted the landscape, and soldiers wearing Grado-red armor patrolled. I almost did a count, but decided it didn't matter. They easily outnumbered us and, more importantly, unless we found another path, we'd have to march straight at them.

"Oh, how lovely," Eirika groaned. Her voice was thin and breathy. "We're marching right for, guess what, another trap."

"I wonder if we should be flattered by the amount of effort they're putting into our little group," I replied, voice as dry as possible. I debated seeing if I could snipe, but decided against it. I didn't want them moving before we informed the others. "Then again, unless they get you and Ephraim, then they can't get the Sacred Stone of Renais, right?"

"Well, our bracelets, but otherwise, yes. I suppose that would explain the effort."

"You'd think they'd just dig through Renais Castle's floors or something at this point. I mean; hidden rooms can be found through keys or explosions, right?"

"I'd rather not think of them making literal holes in my home, thank you. But, well, maybe it's a magic thing. I'll ask Saleh. He was going to explain Val… something to me anyway."

"Valega. It's what I at least attempt to do at night nowadays." And truthfully, it was very soothing. I found it so much easier to fall asleep when I did it.

"Yes, that. I was curious, and I accidentally interrupted Saleh when he was practicing it, so he promised to tell me about it." She sighed. "We need to really get back now."

"Try to hold on. I'm going to go higher to make sure they can't see us."

Eirika whimpered, but nodded. I kept a close ear on her breathing as Brynhildr went higher and arced around towards our camp. Thankfully, for her health, we weren't far, especially by flight, but when we landed, I immediately escorted her to Moulder to get checked over. From there, I found Innes and gave my report on what we saw. That's when the chaos hit. Everyone ran this way and that, gathering their weapons and filling their packs with useful things. Vanessa went off to get numbers and the like, since she was actually trained for such things. Innes, Ephraim, and Seth conferred based on what they did know, and fairly quickly, they pulled Gerik into the strategy meeting.

I kept my distance and tuned everyone out, since I didn't really have anything to do. My weapons were with Brynhildr and my pack was already filled with spare medicines and the like; Seth refused to let Eirika and me off for our flight until I had. Everyone was running around so much that I wasn't sure how to approach and ask if they needed help, and it wasn't as if I had any strategic advice. Sure, the thought of 'poisons' crossed my mind, but the time and effort it would take to actually do that… it would take just as long as climbing over the mountains and avoiding them all together. Plus, I wasn't certain if… if I could do something like that. So, I kept to the side, waiting until things calmed, absently tightening my gauntlets while I mentally checked over what was in my packs.

A hug, though, startled me, and I half-turned to see it was Tethys, smiling slyly. And that smile gave me a very bad feeling. "Prince Innes, forgive me, but this is exactly what my specialty is," she was explaining. "We've all decided that transporting all of us, and our supplies, via would simply take too long and be far too much danger and there is no other path we can safely trek. I agree that I should not go alone, of course, so I see no reason why I cannot pick who comes with me."

"Your recommendations are… odd," Innes replied. He held himself strangely stiffly. Ephraim was oddly tense. Seth was, surprisingly, facepalming. I wondered what the hell was going on, to make them all act like this. "Joshua…"

"Joshua knows how to play along, is a fantastic improviser, is noticeably Jehannan, and yet, not someone most would recognize on sight, unlike Gerik or Seth." Tethys's tone was perfectly light. I, however, had the urge to laugh, because of that last thing. "He'd be an excellent guard for me."

"And Emma?"

"Again, Emma looks Jehannan, is not someone most would recognize on sight unlike, and if worse comes to worse, she can just shout for Brynhildr to cause a ruckus." Tethys giggled and tightened her hug on me. I was frozen, stunned by the realization of just what was going on now. "Oh, if you're worried about her ability to act, you shouldn't. As Seth there can confirm, she got all the supplies for Eirika's little group in Serafew, despite Grado soldiers actively looking for her, and I was the only one who ever caught on. So…!~" She kissed my cheek, and laughed. "I'm going to take her and Joshua along for this infiltration mission, okay? No protesting. We need to think of a story quickly."

Of all the things I expected to bite me in the ass, I had to admit that Serafew wasn't one. Oh gods, what did I get myself into?

* * *

The plan was strangely simple and, best of all, I had a very minimal role. Aside from being the designated emergency 'screw everything and run the hell away' person, I would pretend to be a newbie mercenary for Gerik's group, training with Tethys, with Joshua helping out because war made traveling uncomfortable, especially for two women. I was also pretending to be a half-Frelian, half-Jehannan who moved to Jehanna shortly before the war began, mostly to explain away the clothing. Simple. Perfectly simple, easy to remember. So, of course, we hit a complication fairly quickly; these people were very paranoid and had arrows trained on us as soon as we got within sight. That said, we got a blessing not long after that, so fast that my neck hurt from the whiplash. Joshua, it turned out, actually knew the leader of the soldiers. Will wonders never cease.

"When the hell did you go all proper and become a soldier, Aias?" Joshua laughed, waving to the leader. He was probably the only person I knew who could be so cheerful with fifty arrows aimed at them while wearing absolutely no armor. He made no effort to shield himself, unlike Tethys and me. I had shifted over Tethys since I at least still wore a chest plate, a different one than normal, and refused to move. Tethys, as per usual, wore no armor. "I see a cane. That leg wound didn't heal right, did it?"

"It healed better than expected, but ultimately, I did acquire a limp," the leader said. He had a stoic face, and a quiet voice, and everything about him from his posture to his clothes to the cane he used appeared strict and no-nonsense. But something about him seemed happy to see Joshua. The eyes, perhaps. They seemed softer, warmer. "What are you doing on the outskirts of Jehanna? Last I heard, you disappeared somewhere around Serafew."

"My contract ran out, though if you heard from Calleach, he probably conveniently forgot. But I got my payment and left. I've no purpose in a war like this." Joshua shrugged, and I tried to not react to the most lies I had ever heard Joshua tell in one sitting. That wasn't, you know, purposely absurd. "Helping pretty Tethys here train up a newbie. This is Emily, though we like to call her 'Emm' or 'Emma' depending."

"Tethys? Of the Desert Tiger's group?" Aias's eyes narrowed, but he gestured and the archers stood down. "I heard he's with Prince Innes."

"Is he now?" Tethys asked, amused. She smiled sweetly and slowly, and stepped out of my protective grip. I just thanked our lucky stars that we used Brynhildr to swoop around and come from their southern side. Supplies and heavy armor was too much to move quickly, but three people who weren't all that heavy? Easy as pie. "Well, I knew he went out on a contract, but I didn't get to see what it was. Marisa left too, so here I am, teaching the pretty new one."

"Ah, the life of a mercenary," Aias replied, voice somewhat sympathetic. "I almost miss the excitement that comes with unexpected jobs." He shrugged and nodded to the camp proper. "Well, you might as well rest for a while. Joshua, have you three eaten?"

"We have, but I won't say 'no' to any alcohol you have," Joshua laughed. He glanced at Tethys and a knowing look passed between them. It was different than the initial plan, but this might actually work better. Lucky red hair and eyes struck again, it seemed. "Say, Tethys, you want to dance for these guys? I'm sure they could use the cheering up."

"Certainly!" Tethys laughed. She subtly nudged me towards Joshua, and I understood immediately. I'd stick with him, while Tethys danced around, literally and figuratively. After all, if we got into trouble, it would be easier for us if I stayed in one place for her to find. "Is that okay, sir?"

"I'm sure it's fine!" Joshua winked and Aias actually rolled his eyes. "Come on. I know you don't think much of it, but your soldiers will. Trust me." He walked over and slung an arm around Aias's shoulders. "So, about that alcohol… please tell me you have beer. I've spent the past couple of hours wishing for a good cup."

Carefully and easily, surprisingly so, Joshua and I joined Aias by the central fire while Tethys flirted, danced, and generally cheered up the soldiers. I wondered at how easily this was going, but it soon became clear why. Tethys really was cheering them up, Joshua's friendliness made Aias drop his guard, we came from the south, kept Brynhildr far out of sight but still within earshot, and the only thing 'foreign' was my clothes. He bought the story, and so, treated us as neutral parties. I felt bad about tricking him.

"You ever have Jehannan beer, girl?" Aias asked, passing Joshua and me a mug. I smiled slightly and shook my head, relaxing as I took the mug. If we were sharing food and drink, then he couldn't hurt us so long as we didn't hurt him and his. Hospitality was sacred among all the countries, of course, but Jehannans took it _very_ seriously. So long as Tethys wasn't discovered, we'd be fine. "Well, this isn't the best of it, but it's decent enough. Not a bad thing to start off with. How long have you been a mercenary?"

"Not long, sir," I replied. I mimicked Tana's accent as best as I could, and hoped to all that was holy that he wouldn't ask me to talk long. I doubted I could keep it up. This wasn't an accent I was used to copying, like Mom's Jehannan. "I was raised on the border of Frelia and Renais, but when my sister passed, I had no family left. So, I thought I'd try to make a new one here in Jehanna. Just arrived when I heard about the war."

"Not sure if that was a wise decision, but it was lucky. Renais has all but been razed to the ground, by this point. Once again, the coloring proves the stories." Aias glanced at Joshua, and I tried to not wince at hearing about how bad off Renais was. "And here I thought it was just you."

"Hey, what can I say? Lady Luck loves me!" Joshua laughed. He sipped his beer without hesitation, and I did the same after a brief bit of hesitation. I tried to not make a face at the taste, and made myself take another gulp. I decided either it was an acquired taste or the first one had killed all the taste buds in my mouth because the second one wasn't as bad. "I'm sorry about the leg, Aias."

"I would've lost it entirely if not for you," Aias said softly. He briefly touched his knee, no doubt where the scar was. "Or I would've lost my life. You're the one who carried me out of the fight and got me to a healer, if you've forgotten."

"Meh, it was no big deal."

"Not to you. Because you were always doing things like that." Aias laughed and drank his own beer. "You go on about Lady Luck, and being stonehearted, but without fail, you were helping in the infirmary, stitching up wounds, or carrying wounded off the battlefield."

"It's not that big of a deal." Joshua looked away, expression stoic. "Given our country, it might've been kinder to let you bleed out."

"Maybe. Certainly, I couldn't continue as a mercenary on this leg." Aias shrugged. "But I can still ride. I can still fight. Caellach got me a job as a soldier and I've been doing well since."

"He did, huh? That's odd." Joshua frowned. "He's never been the type to simply do favors."

"I've served as his tactician, just as I did with the Sunthorns."

"Okay, that does make far more sense."

"Doesn't it?" Aias gave Joshua a serious look then, all traces of cheer fading. "Hey, if Caellach sees you, I'm sure he'll try to recruit you again. You two always did fight well together. But don't take it, okay? He'll kill you."

"Will he?" Joshua's frown deepened. I just listened, sipping the beer and deciding that it seriously must've killed all my taste buds. It wasn't that bad now. "Well, that's odd. You're working with him."

"Yes, and I figured out what he's planning. Win or lose, I die here. I know it. Either this group kills me in a fair match, or Caellach does so that I don't chain him to the past he so hates."

"Why not leave, then? It's not like he's here to stop you."

"True, but they say Prince Innes is the most brilliant tactician in Magvel. They also say Prince Ephraim is almost as skilled. And here both are, serving as my adversaries. How could I resist such a challenge?" Aias laughed, smiling ruefully. "You know how much I pride myself with my strategies, Joshua. Either I lose to truly formidable foes, and die, or I win and die knowing that my tactics truly were the best. Neither is a bad way to go, really. Though, I'm sorry to simply waste the life you saved."

"…It's your life. You live and die as you please. Picking how you die is a rare luxury in this world." Joshua shrugged and took a very long gulp of beer. "I didn't save you so that you'd owe me. I saved you because I wanted to."

"Things like that are why I say to stay away from him, Joshua. The world needs to hold onto people like you. There's too little kindness."

"You've been drinking for a while before we got here, it seems. You're only this sentimental when you're tipsy."

"Perhaps. But that doesn't make my words any less true."

"Save the wisdom for the hangover."

They both laughed and, gradually, their talk turned to other things. Old jobs, old friends, old jokes. I listened closely, sipping the beer, and with each story, I got a picture of the 'Sunthorns' Joshua used to work with. Not necessarily a family like Gerik and his group, but friends. They annoyed each other, they argued, but they always had each other's backs. They teased each other mercilessly, laughed at silly little failures, but fought tooth and nail to keep each other safe. When one died, they mourned and remembered, carrying them with them always. A group of friends that fought and died for each other. And most had died, it seemed.

Eventually, Tethys danced up, saying that we needed to leave if we didn't want to get caught up in any fighting, sparkling eyes silently saying she found out quite a bit. She stayed for a mug of beer, though, and a brief bit of more recent gossip, just to be hospitable. Once the mugs were empty, Aias saw us off at the edge of camp, and he and Joshua shook hands before parting without another word. They met. They reminisced. By the end of tomorrow, Aias would die and Joshua would remember him always, just as he remembered the others. That was the way of a mercenary. I could see why Mom left the life, more keenly now than ever before.

"Are you okay?" I asked him softly as we walked to where Brynhidlr waited. Tethys skipped ahead of us, humming. No doubt she was also organizing everything she'd learned, and thus, would keep quiet. "About Aias, I mean."

"Of course," Joshua answered easily and softly. He glanced up at the sparkling stars and shrugged. "He's a former mercenary. I'm a mercenary. It happens. I'm fine."

"Liar." I leaned into his side reassuringly. "You're hurting."

"At least let your big brother pretend to be the coldhearted mercenary, petal."

"For a while longer. Until you become the kindhearted king." I slipped my arm around his and smiled. "By the way, I think that beer killed my tongue. Like, killed and skinned it, I mean."

"It was definitely a rougher batch. Not the worst, but definitely rough." He leaned against me too, accepting the comfort. "When things calm, I'll get you a better mug."

"I must be insane to agree to that, but I will hold you to that promise."

"Sounds good." He finally grinned. "Sounds good."

* * *

Between the information Tethys ferreted out and Joshua's own knowledge of Aias, Innes and Ephraim came up with a strategy that they later refined with help from others, Seth and Gerik included. I stayed out of it, happily going to bed as soon as Tethys and Joshua were done reporting. I'd mostly been there as a cover and potential escape route, and was very delighted to not have to do anything else. I felt horribly uncomfortable by all of this.

The next day, we went into battle, and we fliers were the first attackers. Vanessa and Tana threw javelins. I shot people with my arrows. We actually managed a fairly decent kill count, all things considered, but our main duty was to sow confusion among their ranks so that Innes, Neimi, Lute, Saleh, and Artur could snipe them. Supposedly from there, we'd have cavalry start running people down, but that was the extent I knew of the plan. After the initial strike, my duty was to provide support from above, and to help extract wounded. Perhaps it would've been better if I'd learned a staff rather than a bow, but that was the way of things. I had no talent for magic anyway. Maybe Tana or Vanessa could take it up instead.

"L'arachel, you should really consider learning some magic or something," I called, taking out a soldier harrying her with an arrow. I wasn't sure if the arrow killed them, but Brynhildr landing on them certainly did. "Especially if you're going to go so deep into the fighting without a guard."

"I appreciate the concern, darling, but I'll be fine!" L'arachel declared. She was splattered with blood, and I was worried how much of it belonged to our friends. I also tried to not wince at how hard it would be to clean. "Why, if they think to get close, I… I will whack them with my staff!"

"While I'll admit that it can be used as a bludgeoning weapon, do you have the strength to do more than daze them?" I smiled, waiting, but she just shifted in her saddle, looking away sheepishly. "Now, what's north?"

"Pardon?"

"North. You keep looking north. That's why that soldier nearly got you." I leaned back in my own saddle, watching her. "So, what's north? Or what's going to be north?"

"Oh, right, you weren't with Eirika when…" L'arachel laughed awkwardly, for some reason. "Well, you see, a little bird told me that Rausten knights are-"

"You asked your uncle for assistance?" I smiled slightly as L'arachel stared. "Couple of things. One, Joshua's been to Rausten. Two, white is a very hard color to keep clean and, thus, isn't 'commoner travel wear'. Three, commoners always check the prices of things they buy. Four, only nobles wouldn't understand why people might try to gamble for more coin. Five, horses are expensive to take care of. Six, you're literally wearing a circlet."

"Oh, drat." She pouted. "I thought I was doing a magnificent job! But then again, Emma, you are so very clever."

"And I know Joshua. Who literally has seen you before."

"That too. I do need to thank him for not giving away the game too soon." She sighed gustily. "But yes, I did. I worried over the lack of medicine and staves we had going into the desert, especially when Joshua talked about how difficult it could be to survive the desert if unprepared. So, I asked my dear uncle for assistance, while also telling him of the danger to the Sacred Stone."

"You're a treasure, L'arachel." I smiled warmly at her. "Or should I call you by title?"

"Nope, never. You and I are friends." She smiled back, and laughed. "All right! I'm back into the healing!"

"Keep someone near you. I have to swing around the back and won't be around to help for a while."

"You're going alone?"

"Well, there's three of us covering the skies for aerial support. None of us are near each other." I shrugged, unbothered. This was how most of the strategies went. "So, we're off. Please try to stay safe."

I had Brynhildr take off then, and we quickly found Ewan and Amelia under siege. We helped distract the enemy long enough for them to take them out, and then settled into our little patrol on the back part, focused more on if any enemies were aiming for the injured in the infirmary Natasha and Moulder set up. I frowned as I noticed movement from the west, approaching us, and urged Brynhildr onward, narrowing my eyes to study them. It was a small group, ten at most, and they were led by someone fairly familiar, but not anyone I'd bothered remembering clearly. I aimed an arrow at them, more as a way to disorient than anything, and tugged on the reins to turn Brynhildr back towards where Innes was set up to let him know.

However, as I did, Brynhildr suddenly screeched and jerked up, twisting to the side. I yelped, wondering what the hell was going on, and then something slammed into us. Over and over, we tumbled until I had no idea which way was up or down. Brynhildr shrieked and shifted under me, biting and clawing. I lost my grip on my bow instantly. I tried to get my lance. It slipped from the straps and my fingers. I tried to unbuckle my left gauntlet to get the dagger. I only got it halfway before I busted my lip on the hilt. I bloodied my nose when my face slammed into Brynhildr's neck. My waist and hips bruised as my body was jerked this way and that. If not for the straps buckling me into the saddle, I would've flown off.

It wasn't until something snaked around Brynhildr and bit my side that I finally pieced everything together. A wyvern rider had slammed into us. Their wyvern and Brynhildr fought desperately against each other. And I was very much about to die.

My instincts, however, told me to survive. In that moment of stillness, that second of clarity, I got the dagger the rest of the way out of the gauntlet-sheath and jammed it into the wyvern's jaw, right at the joint. It let go automatically, screeching in pain, and Brynhildr twisted me out of reach. She tried to just twist away entirely, but she couldn't manage it. Claws screeched over metal, but she couldn't break free of the other wyvern's grip. I sheathed the dagger again, worried I'd accidentally stab Brynhildr or myself in the confusion. Someone shouted nearby, the other rider maybe, but the roaring in my ears drowned it in the war screams of the wyverns.

Burning pain ripped down my leg, from my knee to my ankle, and on the next twist, I found myself half-thrown out of the saddle. I knew, from that and the pain, that this wyvern, whoever it was, had sliced through the straps. I struggled to stay on, but I knew I wouldn't last. I was going to snap some bones. I was going to die. There was no question about it. If I stayed in this situation, I was not leaving it alive. And Brynhildr, for reasons I couldn't see but I was sure were good ones, couldn't break free, despite her strength.

A claw whipped past Brynhildr and almost got my other leg. Brynhildr managed to jerk me out of the way, so it only hit my packs. They flew off, contents spilling out, and I tried to reach out to snag an elixir or something. Instead, my fingers snatched cloth and I tucked it close to my chest. I coughed, choking on blood from my nose, and nearly froze when I realized just what I'd grabbed was. It was the charm Natasha had made me, when I first rode Brynhildr into battle. The Sigil of the Skies on one side, asking the God-King of the Skies for protection and the Crest of the Dead, asking the Queen-Goddess of the Dead to watch over me, stitched together carefully and lovingly. Her 'stay safe' charm that I always carried, to the point that I never even thought about it anymore.

Clutching it tightly, mind almost numb from everything that was going on, I made myself look around and figure out just where I was. It was hard. The wvyerns' battle had us tumbling this way and that. I cracked my forehead against Brynhildr's after one particularly sharp turn, and I felt more blood trickle down my face. But I did figure out which way was down, and I realized something. We were above the mountains. We were actually quite close, and it was… it declined. It angled. If I hit, I'd roll. I could maybe… maybe…

"Okay, gods…" I hissed. Clutching Natasha's charm tightly, I leaned forward and held onto the saddle, preparing for what had to be the smartest-dumbest thing I'd ever do in my life. "If I truly am beloved by you as all the sayings insist…" Another jerk brought us even closer, so I reached down and undid the straps on my other leg. "Now is definitely the time to prove it."

On the next twist, I let go and let myself fall. A 'leap of faith', or 'fall of faith'. If it failed, I'd at least die faster.

I hit the ground with a gasp and a thump. I was too terrified to figure out if it was a 'hard' fall or not, and then there was no time as I immediately began rolling down the mountainside. Painfully. I flailed about and struggled to slow my descent down, bleeding off momentum as much as I could. What remained of my boots tore apart. The fingertips of my gauntlets shredded. My armor clanged and dented. But, surprisingly, I did manage a stop before too long, and I coughed, choking on blood. This time, I wasn't sure if it was from the nosebleed or from internal injuries. I could move all my limbs, but everything burned with pain. My face. My neck. My arms. My legs. My chest. My abdomen. Everything.

Gasping for air and more than a little delirious, I pressed a hand against the bite injury on my side and pulled it back to see how red it was. It was _very_ red, solidifying that yes, I was indeed in a lot of trouble, but I at least spared myself a slung about death in the air? I opened my mouth, intending of screaming for Brynhildr, but she loosed a bone-chilling screech, filled with raw rage and pure hatred, and I knew she wouldn't hear me. So, instead, I looked up, feeling more blood trickle down my face and neck, and saw she'd managed to free herself after I'd dropped, probably because she didn't have to deal with my weight anymore. Blood streamed down her scales, made more apparent because of how pale of a grey they were, and I worried about her health.

But she didn't. Instead she lunged, slamming her whole weight onto the other wyvern, claws tearing deep through its scales to make sure she held. The other rider yelled and flailed, much as I had, and reached into their pack for something as they frantically undid the straps keeping them in the saddle. As soon as they did, they jumped, swinging something above their head, a cloth that opened up and slowed their descent enough for a safe landing not far from me. Two seconds later, Brynhildr threw the other wyvern into the mountainside, back first. If they'd stayed on, they would've been nothing but paste. The wyvern, however, didn't care. It launched itself from the mountains and crashed into Brynhildr, both wyverns having free rein now that that their riders were gone. Trickles of blood dripped down, but neither gave in.

"Holy hell, this is not how I expected today to go," the other rider whispered. They pulled off their helmet, revealing blonde hair and surprisingly kind eyes. "Girl? Girl, hey, are you alive?" They took a step forward, but I winced and tried to get away automatically. Pain flooded me though, and I coughed up blood. Again, I had no idea if it was from something internal or the nosebleed. "Girl, you need medical attention if you're going to survive. I know I'm probably the last person you want it from, but…"

"Get away from her!" That shout startled both of us, along with the thrown javelin that nearly killed the other rider right then and there, and would have if he hadn't jumped to the side at the last second. But tears of pain, fear, and sheer relief spilled down my face when a pegasus landed in front of me, and I saw Tana glaring fiercely. "Don't you dare get closer!" she snapped, dismounting and pulling the packs off her saddle. "Achaeus, if he takes a step, kick him." She ran for me, then, dropping the packs as she helped me sit up a little better. "Ah, the angle is bad for footing… and there's so much blood…"

"You're a wonderful sight, Tana," I rasped. I coughed again, which was good because the only other option I had was laughing. "Holy hell…"

"I'm so sorry! I tried to get close, but Achaeus couldn't… oh, never mind! I'll apologize properly later!" She opened up the packs and pulled out all sorts of medicinal supplies. "I am so glad Moulder insists we carry half an infirmary in these things. I'll get you numbed-"

"No numbing. Not yet." I tried to smile or shake my head or something, but all my focus went on simply breathing. "The pain means I'm not dead yet. Let me hold onto that, please?"

"Mmm, okay. I don't have time to argue, I know." She pulled my shirt up and started smearing elixir onto the bite wound. "Gods, Emma, why did you jump?"

"Wasn't going to survive in the saddle. Trust me." I winced as my side burned more. Already infected. Sliding down the side of a mountain probably hadn't been good. "So, I feel like hell. Do I look it?"

"No offense, Emma, but you kinda look like you were dragged through it, face first."

"Not setting any trends then."

"Nope, not this one. But you're alive. And I'll help you stay alive. Promise."

She bandaged me as best as she could, quickly and efficiently. Achaeus flared out his wings and moved back to give us protective shade against the sun burning down overheard. The other rider held up his hands and didn't come closer. In fact, he only moved to get out of the way of the wyverns when they landed suddenly in a spray of dust and blood droplets. I coughed hard at the dust, and wondered if I'd have to calm down Brynhildr. However, she simply shifted into a defensive position, from what I could see. Between her and Achaeus, that other wyvern wouldn't get through.

Not that it didn't try. It made to lunge, but its rider snatched the reins and tugged, digging his heels in to make its head turn and stop the attack. "Genarog!" the other rider snapped, and I tried to think through the pain as to why I knew that word. "Genarog, calm down! If not for yourself, then for me? That last battle nearly got _me_ killed too, you know! Honestly, Genarog, of all the times for your temper to go…!"

Genarog. I did know it. But it wasn't just a word. It was a name. And as soon as I remembered, I just had to laugh.

"Emma?" Tana squeaked. She looked at me worriedly, which made sense considering I was half-certain I was laughing mad at this point. "Oh, why are you laughing? I could use the joke!"

"This is such bullshit," I managed. I leaned around Tana slightly to catch the other rider's eye. He was still trying to calm down Genarog, but he did look at me. Probably freaking out by the laughter too. "You're General Glen's brother, aren't you?"

"I am, yes," he replied. His eyes narrowed, and this time, I could see the pain behind the kindness, the rage behind the concern. "My name is Cormag. How did you figure?"

"He told me that one of Brynhildr's brothers was named Genarog and that his brother rode him." I leaned back against the rock, breathing heavily as more pain washed over me. "Haha… their stupid trap worked."

"What trap?"

"What are you doing here? You here to kill us?"

"My targets were Prince Eirika and Prince Ephraim. However, a certain wyvern decided otherwise, and now I'm just really freaking annoyed. Mostly at him." He glared at Genarog, who growled in return. "Look, this is not how we're supposed to work. You're calm when I'm mad, and I'm calm when _you're_ mad. And I'm allowed to be really mad right now, so you really need to be the calm one."

"Why were you after Eirika and Ephraim?" Tana asked. She tied off the last bandage and dabbed a little more elixir and vulnerary on me. I thought she might've used her whole supply on just me, and didn't like the implication that gave. "Do you think they killed General Glen?"

"Who else could have?" Cormag snapped. Genarog snarled, leaning forward. Brynhildr growled in return. "The wyvern here wears Itroph's armor, so I know-"

"Oh, for gods' sake, is everyone in Grado an idiot?" Tana twisted to glare at him. "Honestly, you all have freaking Valter in your group! A known psychopath! And I barely know a thing about him, but I'd certainly suspect him over anyone else!"

"That's-!"

"Yes, Brynhildr wears his armor. General Glen recommended it to Emma, and Brynildr chose it, and based on the scratches, it's clear it saved her life! We have some of their saddles, because wyvern saddles are different from horse and pegasus saddles and you just showed why she needs them. We have their saddlebags because we needed information and it felt too cruel to just leave them there!" Tana spoke quickly and fiercely, like a dam had broken down. "But no, we didn't kill him! He left, because he thought the information he heard and what his own eyes told him didn't match. He planned on returning, but he let us go because he's apparently the only one in the damn empire with half a brain!"

"Hold on a-"

"He was killed afterwards, along with all of his people. And we suspected we'd be framed for it, but for you to come up here and nearly kill… planned to kill…!" Tana growled some very creative curses under her breath and I seriously wondered where she'd heard them. "Honestly! You deal with Valter every day, so you have to know more about him than me! I bet Gena… whatever, sorry, I'll remember the name later. But I'll bet General Glen's corpse was mauled by a wyvern, and that's why your wyvern went after Brynhildr! Even though she was so upset by the deaths…!"

"Will you just-?"

"Mauled by a wyvern! Yet, no, it's Eirika and Ephraim's fault! Argh!" Tana threw her hands up in the air and knelt down beside me again, checking the bandages. She had to change a couple; I'd already bled through, it seemed. "Ugh, this isn't the time for this…"

"That's what I said earlier." Cormag's own voice was snappy, and a borderline growl. My vision was blurring, so it was hard to see, but he looked angry and uncomfortable. Maybe. "She needs medical treatment and she needs it now. Her wyvern did what she could to protect her, but she's going to die if she's not treated soon."

"Ah…" Tana's anger and annoyed faded in an instant, and she studied me sadly. I tried to smile, but it was just a grimace. I had to fight to breathe. "Your name is Cormag, yes?"

"Yes? Why?"

"My name is Tana. I'm the princess of Frelia." She stood again, and this time looked at him entreatingly, no sign of her earlier anger. "Why don't you come with us and see the truth with your own eyes? If I'm wrong, you'll have perfect access to them. If I'm right, you'll get to kill Valter."

"You'd ask an enemy to suddenly become an ally?" He gave her an incredulous look. I could make out that much still. "I literally just admitted to wanting to kill-"

"In retaliation for your brother's death. I have an older brother too, you know. He annoys me and he's a total jerk, but if anything happened to him, I'd go mad from grief. That's part of why I'm out here. I couldn't stand just waiting and hoping, not anymore." Her voice broke, and tears slipped down her face. "I _almost_ lost him not long ago, and the fear had me breaking down. So, I can forgive that rage. I wouldn't let you go around unwatched, but I can forgive it. I can understand it. If I lost my brother so horribly, I might do the same."

"You…"

"And I do apologize for snapping that you had to be an idiot. Grief can make us all go mad. But you're right. As much as I would love to keep screaming, I can't wait here any longer. I need to get Emma to the healers, yet I can't leave you here if you're an enemy. I can't leave my back to you if you're an enemy. So, please?" Her voice cracked again. "Please, won't you give us the benefit of doubt? Your brother did. I swear he did. I swear we didn't kill him. So, please..."

"…To think my first loss is not to a man's sword, but a woman's words." Cormag sighed, faceplaming. "Well, I'm not quite as blinded by rage as earlier. You can't be if your wyvern goes on a rampage. Otherwise, you both die. And, unfortunately, what you said does make enough sense that I can't dismiss it outright." He let his hand fall to reveal a rather droll look. "Fine. I'll accept your proposal, for now."

"Thank you." Tana smiled brightly, still crying. "Thank you so much!"

"It is only for now."

"You're still agreeing."

"I suppose so." He sighed again, and it sounded exasperated. I imagine this entire day ran very contrary to how he expected. "You have a story? I highly doubt anyone else would be so…"

"Eirika and Ephraim would."

"They would, but we can just say it's Genarog's fault," I called. My vision was blurring and it hurt to breath. But I knew that would work. "It is, anyway. He went after me because he thought Brynhildr killed… oh, fuck, dizzy…"

"Stop trying to push yourself!" Tana snapped. She was by me again in an instance. "Honestly, Emma…"

"Sorry. Monica complained about how I could never shut up either." I tried to push myself up, and couldn't. I might've done better if I let go of the charm, but I refused. Natasha gave it to me. I wasn't letting go. "Going to need a liiiiiiiittle help?"

"More like a lot!" Tana got her arm around me and helped me stumble to my feet. I tried to not focus on the big red patch left behind. "Brynhildr? Can you and Achaeus help? Cormag, is your wyvern going to attack?"

"Not at this point," Cormag replied. He had already mounted up. "His anger's abated, so he's feeling his bruises."

"I thought I saw him get thrown?" Tana asked, half-carrying me over to Brynhildr. Brynhildr had crouched as low as she could, crooning worriedly. "Into the mountain?"

"Wyverns are durable. But his back is definitely bruised, and there's no way for me to avoid sitting on one. Basically, don't worry about him. I'll guard your back while you keep her on."

"Okay." Tana pushed me into the saddle and did her best to strap me in. Little droplets of blood dripped down on her hands. "I'd better stick to one side, just in… oh, whatever. Just hang on, Emma."

'Hang on' was about all I could do by that point. The pain had numbed away most of my thoughts, and I half-thought about fainting just so that I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. A fear of dying, though, kept me awake as Tana flew Achaeus as close as she safely could and Cormag flew above us, his shadow darting to the side sometimes to fend people off. At least, I thought so. I couldn't see much of anything, even with my eyes open. Everything was blurred and spotty, black threads criss-crossing through. I just trusted Tana and Brynhildr to get me where I needed to go. Not a hard thing. Trusting them, I mean.

Eventually, at some point between 'hazy' and 'hazy', we started descending, the wind whipping past. When we landed, someone started unbuckling me almost immediately. I managed to catch the scent of frankincense through the blood and sweat, and knew it was Joshua before he even spoke. "I've got you, petal," he whispered, pulling me out of the saddle. I closed my eyes and leaned against him. "I've got you. Come on. Natasha is waiting. Tana, you're needed. Vanessa had to pull triple duty. Who's this one?"

"His name is Cormag, and he's General Glen's brother," Tana replied. She hesitated briefly. "Genarog, his wyvern, thought Brynhildr killed General Glen, we think, so…"

"There is no controlling a wyvern. Right, I'll leave it to you. I need to-"

"Cormag can take her job over. Please…"

There was some sort of 'yes' noise, but I wasn't sure who. I clung weakly to Joshua as he carried me, as much strength as I could manage, and struggled to keep consciousness. There was a bunch of noise and most of it simply washed over me. There was a spike in the smell of blood, but I barely paid it any mind. There was something half-sung, and it took a moment to realize it was Joshua, singing a Prayer Song for me.

"Over here, Joshua." Natasha's voice was soft and I relaxed upon hearing her. "I figured I'd need more space. Did you get anything or…?"

"No, but I do think she got bit, so I'll stitch that up." Joshua's voice was also soft, and he set me down on something. A cot, likely. "Let me know what else will need it. I can smell the infection already."

"I will. I'll go ahead and get started, if you'll get the thread."

"Okay." There was the rustling of cloth and the sound of a soft kiss before someone walked away. Probably Joshua. Maybe.

"Emma?" After all, Natasha was still here. "Emma, are you awake?" she asked. I groaned, and pried open my eyes, only seeing a blurry mess of whites, reds, and golds. "You are. Okay. Hi there."

"Hiya, Natasha…" I managed, words slurring slightly. I tried to smile. "I'm sorry. I got your charm bloody."

"You… huh?" Something touched my hand, and she laughed, a strangely sad sound. "I'll make you a new one. I promise."

"Really? Yay." I coughed violently, spitting out more blood. "Ugh… I hurt…"

"I'll make you better." Her cool hand brushed the hair out of my face. "I promise. I'm going to put you to sleep now, but when you wake up, you'll feel better."

"K…" Hearing those words, from a healer, from someone I trusted more than anything, broke my resolve to stay awake. "Hey, Natasha?"

"Hmm?"

"Love you lots."

"I love you too, Emma. Go to sleep. You'll be okay."

* * *

I woke up in pain, but there was significantly less of it. That alone reassured me that Natasha had been right. I was okay. However, the sound of water splashing and the feeling of something tugging on my hair confused the living hell out of me and made me claw my way out of unconsciousness to see what was going on. It still took a while for me to find the energy to actually open my eyes, and everything was blurry until my eyes slowly focused. But I caught 'green' and 'white' and knew who was sitting beside me.

"L'arachel, what the…?" I tried to say. It came out more like. 'Lrchul, wthe…' though. "Ugh…"

"Easy, you're coming out of sedation," L'arachel chided. The splashing and tugging on my hair continued. "You probably don't remember, but you woke up in the middle of Joshua sewing up your side, so we gave you some sedatives."

"Yuck."

"They're supposed to taste bad." More splashing and tugging. "You were bitten, as I'm sure you're aware, but thankfully the wyvern hadn't completely chomped down, so it was actually healable. Your leg required stitches to make sure you don't have half of your lower leg being scar tissue pressed on nerves. You suffered some severe scrapes and bruising from your fall, and most are still there since our priority was making sure you'd live and not be crippled."

"Makes sense." I attempted to raise my arm, and found my reactions to be slow, but there. "Bones?"

"Some deep bruising, but the angle and roll apparently made it so that you bled off enough momentum to prevent breaking them. Along with actual bleeding." Still more splashing and tugging. "You're covered in bandages, and will remain so as we heal you in stages. You will, however, be pleased to know that you were the worst of our wounded."

"Yay." Finally, I thought to actually turn my head and look, and I saw her dunking her hands into a bowl of water and running them through my hair carefully. "What are you…?"

"Oh, you had a lot of blood encrusted in your hair, darling. Your dress was ruined, by the way, as were your boots. I think your armor is among those being checked to see if it can be fixed. Last that I heard, Gerik was mending your gauntlets, while Joshua cleaned and tended to the dagger you keep hidden within."

"That doesn't quite…"

"Hmm? Ah, yes, _why_ I'm cleaning the blood out of your hair." She smiled tiredly. "Well, my knights arrived and though I love them, they had wanted to chop your hair off because so much blood got into it. But it's so pretty that I insisted that I could simply wash and brush it out. I needed the break anyway." She held up a lock for emphasis. "And I was right! I've got almost all of the blood out with minimal tangles. I win!"

"Oh. Thank you." I managed to lift an arm then, and I noticed all the bandages. "I'm covered, huh?"

"You are. You won't be battling for at least a few days. Granted, I don't think we'll hit a battle until we get to Jehanna Hall, but still."

"I see." Noticing my words were finally not shaking or slurring, I decided to finally ask about my poor wyvern. "Brynhildr?" After all, that was not a name you said when everything was slurring together.

"She's perfectly fine. She picked up very few injuries, mostly just where Genarog held onto her to make sure she couldn't use her full strength against him." She giggled and set her bowl of water to the side. "At the moment, she's growling at him, but they're getting along. I think. Cormag didn't seem too worried. Just said something about Genarog being sheepish and Brynhildr asserting dominance."

"So, Cormag is with us?"

"Of course! After all, we are the side of righteousness!" L'arachel phrased the words dramatically, but softened quickly. "More seriously, how could we not let him join? He lost his brother, after all, and to the very country he was supposed to serve." She sighed gustily. "I am a bit worried about Genarog, but well… Glen's body had apparently been mangled by Valter's wyvern, and so he thought Brynhildr had been the one to kill Glen and… well…"

"It's fine. Wyverns are wyverns."

"You truly have a hero's heart, Emma." She smiled brightly, and I decided to not even bother trying to protest. It wasn't some 'perfect kindness'. It was just basic knowledge. Wyverns did what they wanted; Brynhildr had proven that many times. If I condemned Genarog, then I'd condemn Brynhildr. Besides, I was more grateful to notice she made no mention of 'attacking Eirika and Ephraim'. "Regardless, yes, Cormag fights with us now. Innes insists he be watched, just in case. Tana volunteered."

"Surprised Innes is letting it so easily."

"He has a little sister. He won't admit it, but I saw sympathy in his eyes. I think he'd break if he lost Tana." She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. I managed to lift myself up just enough to see the back of someone in white-blue armor disappear behind a curtain. That's when I noticed I was in a 'separate' section of what had to be the infirmary. "One of the Rausten knights, Emma, coming to check in."

"Right, you mentioned that." I let myself lie back down, groaning as the pain washed through me. It was duller than earlier, thank god, but it was no less aggravating. "So, the cat's out of the bag?"

"Yes, yes, I revealed my title. I was pleased to see they were surprised!" She giggled, and I didn't have the heart to point out that they likely had been more surprised by her bombastic reveal. I knew it had been dramatic, at least. It was her, after all. "Joshua pretended as well, the dear, but I told him you'd already let me in on his knowing. I also told him how much I appreciated his playing along, though. It really was the sweetest."

"I see." Yeah, I definitely didn't have the heart to tell her. "Will your knights follow us?"

"They will." Her cheer faded. "I do worry. Rausten and Jehanna have not gotten along in many, many years, and bringing in some soldiers could be taken… poorly. To put it mildly. Really, we should get permission from Jehanna's royal family, but Queen Ismaire is in trouble. Joshua reassured that it would be okay."

"Well, he's our expert in Jehannan politics." But, really, I had to fight to keep from laughing. So many things were going to be absolutely hilarious once the others knew.

"True. Gerik mentions Joshua's more versed than some nobles he's worked for. Joshua pointed out that many nobles prefer not paying attention to the laws so that they can do what they want." L'arachel's cheer fully faded briefly at that before returning. "Well, that's a discussion for another day. You're awake, and since you are, and do not appear to be in need of more sedation, you can actually rest in your own tent, providing you promise to be very good and not move from bed?"

"L'arachel, I guarantee you. I'm not doing _anything_. Except maybe a bath." Plus, you know, bathroom and basics. I mean; that was a given. "Wait, can I take a bath with the bandages?"

"If you're careful. They'll need to be changed anyway, so we can just time it with that." L'arachel smiled sweetly. "Are you dealing with your period now?"

"Thank all that is holy, no. Though, knowing my luck, it'll start tonight, but it's been… I think it's only been two weeks since my last. So, I should be fine?"

"Oh, good, one less thing for you to worry about." She slipped an arm under my back and helped me sit up and swing my legs over the side. I winced at each movement, feeling rather like broken glass was stabbing me, but nothing seemed to bleed, and L'arachel seemed to be satisfied. "Okay, let's see if I can find someone who can-"

"L'arachel, are you still back here?" The curtain moved aside again, revealing a tired Ephraim who didn't wear his armor for once. He froze when he saw me sitting up. "…Emma?" he whispered. I smiled slightly in response. "You're awake?"

"Just now!" L'arachel giggled. She clapped her hands and stood up. "Oh, but did you need me for something?"

"Uh… oh, yes, Natasha was wondering if you could come back and do rounds so that Moulder could finally take a break." Ephraim continued staring right at me. "I was coming back to check on Emma, so…"

"Thank you, Ephraim. Yes, I absolutely can, and you can help in return." L'arachel's smile grew. "See, Emma can actually go to her tent, but I don't want her going alone. Can you escort her?"

"Sure, I can. I'm not busy at the moment." Ephraim smiled finally, and my own grew, even as I made sure to keep silent. I felt a little embarrassed by his undivided attention. "Anything I need to know?"

"Just keep an eye on her stamina, and if it looks like anything has reopened, get someone at once." L'arachel smiled and walked away then, without another word.

Ephraim and I stayed there in silence for a while before he stepped forward. "Here, let me help you up," he whispered, holding out his hand. I took it carefully and tried to simply use him as a grounding to stand up. Unfortunately, he had to pull me and, even then, I stumbled, so he had to catch me. "You okay?"

"I'm in a lot of pain, and I think this is going to be more of a limp than a walk," I retorted, a little more caustic than I intended. He didn't seem to mind, though. "But I would like to walk. I would like to go to my tent, since I'm allowed. So..."

"Okay." He shifted so that he had an arm around my shoulders, and had me lean against him. "This okay?"

"We'll see." I did make sure to smile at him. "Let's try this?"

Carefully and slowly, we left the infirmary tent, taking a 'side path' set up using curtains to help with patient privacy. I wondered why, but then I noticed others dressed in a white-blue uniform and realized it was likely something Rausten did. I wasn't sure of why it would be important, but it did make leaving easier, especially since I was limping fairly badly. Thankfully, if oddly, our camp was… rather empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, voice breathy. I was already struggling, even with Ephraim bearing half my weight. "It's never this quiet."

"Chores, repairing things, scavenging supplies from the enemy, patrols to make sure we're safe…" Ephraim listed off easily. He kept our steps slow and steady, only half-paying attention to the road. He mostly watched me. "Those of us not doing those things are in meetings to prepare. Or were. We're taking a break."

"I see." I winced as a particular sharp pain lanced up my leg, but a quick glance showed nothing had reopened. "So, Cormag is staying with us."

"He is. We could use another flier always, and having two wyverns means things will only be safer for you." He tightened his grip on me and pulled me closer, taking more of my weight on him. "He pulled Eirika and me to the side to explain the real reason why he was here. That he blamed, and still half-blames, us for his brother's death and planned to kill us before Genarog and Tana made him calm down to think."

"But, as expected, you let him stay."

"Well, I can't blame him. I know I'd go on a rampage if I lost Eirika so violently, and Eirika pointed out that she went on a very ill-advised mission into enemy territory just because of how scared she was of losing me." He made to shrug, but stopped himself. "We decided that if he's willing to give us a chance, we should give him a chance. I think he's startled by how many of the army sympathizes, though."

"Many of us either lost family, or have family we love to pieces." Actually, that was probably all of us, but I didn't know enough about everyone's family history to say that. "Plus, we're mostly a group of hopeful idiots. Who else would fight against an empire that is winning a war?"

"You're part of the group, you know."

"And I'm probably the biggest idiot for it, but there you go." I winced as another sharp pain spiked through my leg. "I need to sit down."

"Over here." Ephraim led me off the path and sat me on some boxes that didn't look to be ours. "Rausten's knights also brought as many supplies as they could carry. Pontifex Mansel sends us his blessings and reassures us that he's strengthening the defenses around Rausten's sacred stone."

"That's good, I guess." I sighed, wincing. "Ugh… this sucks." I looked down and checked to make sure there was no blood on me. I noticed then that I was wearing a red shirt with a short white skirt and white boots. The clothes reminded me of what Eirika wore; the boots reminded me of Tana's. I wondered if they'd lent me their clothes.

"Which one is giving you trouble?" Ephraim knelt down and gently touched my legs. "No blood either way."

"Yeah, I think it's just pain from the scrapes. Or bruises. Or my body letting me know how little it likes being so close to death." I said the words lightly, intending for them to be a joke. But that last sentence made it all very, very real. I almost died. I very much almost died. Not even a 'oh, I looked death in the face'. I was used to that now. "Ah…" But almost dying, literally almost dying, having to rush to a healer in order to be saved… sure, I'd gotten close in the past. I'd had the 'oh, I need to get to a healer or I will be in trouble' thing before. There had been the spider-monster thing. Valter. Various other battles.

But this time, I really had almost died. This time, I had almost died, and _I actually cared now if I lived or died_. And with that realization came shaking and tears.

"Caught up, didn't it?" Ephraim whispered. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, letting me cry into his chest. "I was wondering."

"Guess I was stuck on the 'oh, hey, I live'?" I joked. The words wobbled and more tears slipped down my face. "Gods, that… that was terrifying. I've fought Valter, and still, that had been… that had been far, far worse." Though, it was darkly amusing that some of the worst frights in my recent life had come from the riders of Brynhildr's brothers. Hell, both of them even left scars! Or I assumed. I highly doubted I was getting out of this without scars. "Damn it."

"Are you cursing yourself for being scared?"

"I'm kind of cursing myself for caring, since I didn't use to? Or, well… no, that's not quite right. I don't know. Can I just curse life?"

"Sure." Hesitantly, he tightened his hug, and I leaned more into him, grateful for the warmth and comfort. "I'm sorry."

"For what? My near death experience?" I shook my head and tried to reach up to wipe away the teas. Failing that, I just leaned more into him to let his shirt take care of it. "Nothing you could do."

I know. That's why…" He laughed bitterly, one hand reaching up to run through my hair. "Ha… isn't this ridiculous? I'm praised endlessly for my strength. I pursued strength so that I could protect people, and so that no one would have to die for me. So, that I could find personal glory and leave it all behind. Yet I've not been able to do anything. My father is dead. My country has fallen. My sister has to break her heart to fight. And the only thing I could do when you almost died was watch in horror, and coordinate the army so that others didn't fall."

"Good. That's what you should've done. You've a job, a duty, and you need to see that through." I closed my eyes, finding myself relaxing. A few more tears fell, but they soon calmed as well, as did my shaking. I still felt that fear, but it felt a little more controlled. I felt a little safer. "As for the rest… well, much as I grouse about you not being there, Ephraim, I can admit that the only thing you probably could have done then is help with evacuations. Maybe your father would've survived, but considering how stubborn you and Eirika are, he probably would've stayed anyway. And died because he was overpowered. Renais's fall was inevitable the second Grado struck."

"But…"

"Now, if you had been there, you and Eirika could've worked on a plan together. That said, though, if you hadn't, well, just think. We might not have learned about them wanting the Sacred Stones because Eirika never would've met Natasha in Serafew. Or we would've learned about the monsters later because we didn't pass through Za'ha woods. Not to mention the people in our group who would've died or been with the enemy."

"Like Myrrh. She'd been captured when I found her, so…"

"See? Though I think it was stupid to go off on your own still, irresponsible as all hell, good came from it. We've made it work." Shyly, I reached up and gripped his shirt. I wanted to hug him back, but I hurt too much to try. "As for Eirika, she chooses to fight because, like you, she doesn't want to send people into danger without facing it. There were a thousand and one ways she could've helped without fighting, but she chose this because she's even more stubborn than you."

"I wish she didn't have to."

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." I smiled slightly. "Besides, you idiot, what do you expect, running off on your own? I know you mentioned being raised to keep everyone apart, but that's not where your strength is. It never has been. You and Eirika have always shared your strengths, right?"

"Mmm, true." He laughed again, but this time, there was warmth in it. "But did you, cynical Emma, always ready to poke holes in my ego Emma, just not only reassure me, but say something wonderfully optimistic? Bonds are the real power?"

"I think it's a testament to how hard I hit my head." I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "Besides, Ephraim, you have the strength to keep people safe. No one has died yet."

"Well…"

"And, right now, I don't need to be 'saved' or anything. I needed someone to lean on. You're plenty strong for that." I looked down, hiding my face against his chest again. I didn't want him to see how embarrassed I was. "Or something. I don't know. It's weird complimenting you. I'm making like… no sense."

"It's weird hearing it!" He laughed, though, and his hand came up to rest against the back of my head again. "But, thank you. You made enough sense, I think. Maybe."

"Oh, shut up." I closed my eyes again, and noticed something. "You smell nice. What's this perfume?"

"Not sure. It's something Joshua threw at me. Well, one of them. I liked this one."

"Good choice."

Ephraim continued to hold me, until I was certain the tears and trembling did actually stop and not just 'pause'. I had a feeling I'd have horrible nightmares, even with practicing Valega, but for now, I was calm. Later, I'd have another breakdown, but right now, I was good. I would be okay. I repeated the mantra silently until I believed it, and only then did I pull away and smile. He smiled back and helped me up and together, we limped over to the tent.

To my surprise, though, Eirika was there, wringing her hands nervously, but she lit up when she saw us. "There you are!" she called, striding over. "Finally. I went to check, and L'arachel said you two were coming here, but…"

"I got tired on the way and had to take a breather," I explained, smiling sheepishly. I felt even safer once I saw her smiling. "But hi? I'd apologize for the near death experience, but believe it or not, this one actually _isn't_ my fault!"

"You jumped!"

"Well, yes… okay, fine, I'll give you that." I sighed heavily. "But, and I guarantee you this, I wasn't surviving if I stayed in the saddle. For one thing, I was only half-strapped in!"

"Cormag mentioned that you had very good instincts on when to jump," Ephraim helpfully added. He smiled sweetly while Eirika scowled. "Oh, come on, Eirika. If you were in a burning building, what would you do? Stay among the flames or jump? Oh, wait, I know which one you'd pick."

"I was ten when that happened!" Eirika snapped. My expression blanked as I tried to figure out what the hell they were talking about. "Ten! And I didn't jump, I fell out of the building."

"Because you smartly ran from the flames. My point stands." Ephraim grinned. "Anyway, I do have work, but Emma, can I braid your hair before Eirika attempts and personally attacks me with how bad it is?"

Eirika grumbled insults at Ephraim under her breath, but I laughed and let him. I did enjoy it when he braided my hair, after all, even though I did plan on taking that bath some time tonight. But, I was sure he'd simply braid it again, afterwards.

* * *

Eirika helped settle me in with bunches of pillows and blankets. I'd protested, but she'd informed me that we had extras thanks to our reinforcements. I still protested, but only half-heartedly, letting Eirika fuss until she had to leave for another meeting or whatever. I closed my eyes and performed Valega, as closely as I could to try and steady myself, but found myself nodding off in the middle and decided to just sleep. It wasn't a very restful one, though. For the first time in a long while, I wasn't too tired for nightmares, and so I dreamed of all my potential deaths. Side ripped out. Falling and splattering on the ground, on the mountain. Bleeding out on the rocks. Bleeding out in the infirmary tent. Again and again and again. It was a relief to wake up, even if I was confused as to the reason.

"Hi, Seth?" I greeted, carefully pushing myself up. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, half-tempted to just flop back down on the pillows. "If this is about revising my training schedule, can we save that for the morning?"

"It's not," Seth replied, smiling. He sat down next to me and shifted the pillows to make it easier for me to sit up. "Princess Eirika was worried about you being left alone, and wanted to check in on you. However, she's also busy, and knew you'd be very annoyed if she put off work."

"More than 'very'."

"So, I am here to check in on you." He studied my face, still smiling. "You look like you've been attempting to sleep."

"It's been quite the valiant effort, yes." I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm hurt and tired."

"I'm sorry." A slightly awkward silence fell, but not for long. "This is my first time in Jehanna."

"Is it?"

"Yes. My father was from here, but he died when I was young. I thought about visiting in the past, but I started my training as a knight fairly early, and Renais never sends knights as messengers."

"Oh, right, Renais starts knightly training at twelve." I tugged the blankets a little higher on my lap, mostly to have something to do. "Did you learn anything from him? Your father, I mean."

"He's the one who taught me about the importance of remaining calm, though it took quite a few years for those lessons to stick."

"Well, you have some of the Jehannan recklessness, or did at least. How many songs are there?"

"Too many, and none of them mention that I was an absolute idiot." He groaned, facepalming. I snickered, pleased with myself. "Half of those things, I just fell into and the other half are because I didn't comprehend that I could die. Typical invincible teenager antics, except I had the wonderful luck of them being well known."

"I'm sure it must be horrible, having your reckless and strange luck be immortalized."

"Watch. If we survive this war, all of us will have songs, and you'll hate every second of it." He sighed, and gave me a look. "Please don't sing right now. You need to rest, for one thing."

"Sadly, I don't think I have the breath for a good one." Even now, I was struggling, like I'd gone through twenty of his drills. "A shame. I'd love to sing one of them. Or just sing at all, to repay Joshua for his Prayer Song."

"You can do that later, and if it is one of 'my' songs, you can do so away from my hearing." He sounded so grouchy that I just had to laugh again. "For now, though, I hope you'll listen to the healers and rest. It wouldn't do for you to stress your injuries and make them unable to heal."

"Like yours?" I let my cheer fade to fix him with a stare. He met it stoically. "You hide it, but I see it. How you 'endure' lance strikes, I mean. I remember how bad that wound had been. After all, I helped treat it."

"It's closed, and healed as well as can be." He smiled slightly at my skeptical look. "I did have Moulder and Natasha look at it. The only way for it to heal 'better' at this point requires some extensive surgery that we're simply not equipped to handle at the moment. Perhaps when we return to Frelia, I'll be able to, but for now, it's fine." He hesitated before reaching out and ruffling my hair. I made a face, but let him. "I'll be returning to my duties. You promise to behave?"

"Why am I being treated like a problem patient?" I sulked. "I'm very good at listening to the healers, unlike some."

"You're also known for pushing yourself if you think it's needed. And, admittedly, this is a time where pushing might be needed." He stood, and rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "So, we older ones are a little worried you'll ignore the pain you're in."

"Even if I did, I think all of you would jump on it in an instance." I made a face, and he laughed. "I'll be a good girl, though."

"Thank you." He patted my shoulder and left. I stuck a tongue out after him, just to be a little childish, and I half-thought he saw, but ignored it.

Left alone, I closed my eyes and tried to do Valega again. I focused on my 'wish', that my friends make it through this, and slowly extended that 'wish' to include things I knew they would want. With each little growth, my mind calmed. The fear of 'what could have been' clawed at my thoughts, but this time, I fended it off with that serenely growing wish. By the time I finished, I felt immensely better and far more centered.

"Are you done?" Of course, Marisa crouched in front of me, staring, nearly startled me back into the 'fear of everything' state of mind. "You were doing that meditation thing Saleh does," she murmured, still staring at me. I struggled to calm down. "You have that same calm about you."

"I'm pleased to see that it's working?" I replied. I held off asking why she just sat there instead of speaking up. For all I knew, she had. "Do you do something similar?"

"No, I found myself unable to do it. It's much easier to simply focus on my own goal." She shrugged, unbothered, and I debated asking what that goal was. "You look better than before."

"I imagine I was quite the bloody mess earlier."

"Pale and grey too. You were in a bad state. But we sang some Prayer Songs for you, and the gods listened and let us keep you, it seems." She shrugged again, but I softened, touched. I knew Joshua had sung, but I hadn't known the rest of them had. "Brynhildr is bandaged up. Not sure if anyone told you, but Joshua had us help him."

"Thank you. I knew she was fine, but not how her injuries were."

"They weren't bad. Why we went with bandages." She stood then, stretching her legs. I wondered how long she'd been crouching. "Regardless, Tethys and Tana were worried, so I told them I'd come by since they were both busy." She smiled slightly. "I think you're going to have a lot of visitors. Should I tell them that you're sleeping?"

"Mmm… no, I think I'll pay the penance of worrying them and be somewhat social." I smiled back. "Thanks for the offer, though. I appreciate it."

"It's no trouble." She turned away and left, tripping over the threshold, though I pretended to not notice.

Not two seconds later, and I got another guest: Neimi who wanted to plan dinner with me, since I obviously wouldn't be cooking. Then Colm swung by, supposedly to make sure Neimi wasn't drowning me in tears. Saleh came by not long after they left, and helped me through another bout of Valega, since I was definitely knocked out of the state of mine. Ross, Amelia, Ewan. Franz. Lute and Artur. Joshua. Honestly, it felt like most at least stopped by to say 'hi' and 'glad you did not die!'. Well, Cormag didn't, but that was only to be expected. Eventually, Natasha stopped by, but she wasn't simply visiting. Instead, she helped me limp over to the bathing tent before dinner, when it would be much quieter, and checked over my injuries. A change of bandages later, and I actually joined the others for dinner, leaning against Joshua as they all sung and told stories.

It was only much later, after a comment Lute made over dinner, that I realized just what happened today and when I made the connection, I groaned and just decided to try and sleep to end the long day. I nearly died, yes, but not only did we get another recruit, another _flier_ , out of it, but it was someone who could help me fly and fight better on Brynhildr. Freaking hell, why was Lute right about me being unluckily lucky?

* * *

 _Notes on Cormag:_

 _A 20 year old former lieutenant-general of Grado's aerial forces, the younger brother of General Glenn who has joined us to ascertain the truth behind his brother's murder._

 _As befitting someone with extensive training, he is strong, fast, and skilled. His wyvern, Genarog, is significantly smaller than Brynhildr, which means that while he is weaker, he's able to make much sharper turns. He can't lift up a horse by himself like Brynhildr can, though._

 _When he's not angry as all hell, he's surprisingly kind and good-natured. He says it was a counter to Genarog, who does have a bit of a fast temper, and he had to learn how to calm quickly in order to make sure Genarog didn't maul people._

* * *

Author's note: So, yay, Cormag joins. In Eirika's route, only Eirika can recruit him, but Tana can in Ephraim's route, which is partly why she recruits him here. In-game, this is the chapter where you learn L'arachel is the princess of Rausten, but she really doesn't do a good job at hiding that she's at least a noble. This chapter reveals that Aias is an old comrade of Calleach's from his mercenary days, and given that Joshua is also a former friend/comrade of Calleach's, I decided it wouldn't be that much of a stretch that Joshua and Aias were at least on good terms with each other. The map is a survival map, and if you don't defeat Aias, then Calleach kills him instead with the reason of 'not being chained to the past'. I think Aias says in game that he was… either 'never wounded' or 'never defeated'. I'm going with the latter because 'never wounded' is definitely an exaggerated boast.

For a comparison between Brynhildr and Genarog, Brynhildr is bigger and stronger, while Genarog is smaller and more agile. Brynhildr can slam into things and use her greater weight and strength to crush things (or lift up horses), while Genarog can use much sharper turns. In terms of gameplay, it basically translates to Emma having a higher strength cap than Cormag, but a lower speed. Which, yes, is basically the opposite of in-game data: female wyvern lords had a slightly higher skill, speed, and res cap while males have a higher strength and defense; wyvern knights follow a similar pattern.

Based off his supports with Eirika, Seth canonically is only 'mostly' healed from the injury that Valter inflicted at the beginning of the game, with the distinct possibility of it never fully healing discussed. We'll also point out that even with this potential handicap, Seth is one of the most gamebreaking units in the entire freaking game, sooo yeah. Technically, there's another scene at the end of the chapter in game, but it's been moved to the interlude. You also have a second boss during the chapter, Pablo after he escaped from failing to kill Innes, which is where the second group comes from in-chapter, but Emma doesn't know him.

Next Chapter – Interlude, Jehanna


	22. Interlude - Jehanna

Interlude – Jehanna

* * *

 _Jehanna, the land of the dancing white sands, if you've a particularly florid bard singing a song about it. The desert nation famous, or infamous, for its mercenary force. The one 'country' to never fall to the Demon King, though history exaggerates. Land of the final army to join the war against the Demon King. It's a land with a lot of pride, sometimes too much, and truthfully, it is home to some of the most skilled warriors, though their 'army' is non-existent. It's not rare to hear stories about a single Jehannan swordmaster to destroy an entire army, and half of the time, those stories are actually true._

 _In accordance with King Raphael's will, Queen Ismaire rules these lands as regent until their son… well, it had originally been 'come of age'. Now, it was 'until he returned to claim the throne'. Officially, his whereabouts are unknown. Unofficially, he's with us, helping us survive the sands and making us laugh with stories._

 _It's absolutely hilarious to me, that so few people have guessed. Not even Gerik seems suspicious anymore. I just hope it continues to be funny._

* * *

There were many rules that little siblings had to live by. Many, many rules, practically ordained by the gods and certainly encouraged by society. And one of the key ones was, of course, to annoy and tease the big siblings. It was a duty I took quite seriously. Sometimes. Like now.

"Smiiiiitten~" I teased, laughing as I poked Joshua's reddening cheek. It took a little bit of maneuvering, thanks to the fact that he was carrying me, but I managed. "Smitten, smitten~"

"I'm going to drop you if you keep doing that," Joshua grumbled. I didn't stop; we both knew it was an empty threat. "Why did I agree to give you a piggyback ride again?"

"I have no idea, truthfully. I expected to walk when I offered to let Eirika and someone else fly on Brynhildr for a time."

"You can't walk with those wounds on these sands." He groaned. "That must've been it. I couldn't bear Natasha's worried frown."

"Smitten, smitten!"

"You're so cruel, petal, mocking your big brother for doting on his lover."

"Hee~" I giggled a bit more before deciding to have mercy and glancing up to find something else to talk about. "The moon seems larger here." I'd never seen it so large, truthfully. It looked almost close enough to grab if you reached out.

"Welcome to Jehanna, petal." He smiled slightly, but it conveyed all the warmth and pride in the world. He loved his home. "I always did like the night more."

At Gerik's recommendation, our marching pattern was much different than normal. We mostly marched at night, when it was freezing, but still tolerable, and rested when the sun rose, hiding under shelter and shade to blunt the ever-present heat. Even with that, though, things were difficult. We hate to ration our water carefully, refilling at oases or random hidden bits of ground water that Marisa found with startling ease. We had to deal with our clothes sticking to our skin, and then making us shiver and freeze as soon as the temperature started to drop. Our armor felt super-heated, and Franz actually burned himself trying to fix his shoulder-guard one time. Our progress slowed to a crawl because of the sand, which made each step a test of strength, endurance, and balance.

Many of our thoughts turn from 'making it to Jehanna Hall in time' to simply 'surviving the desert'. Thankfully, we had old hands to help us out. If not for Gerik, Tethys, Marisa, Ewan, and Joshua... well, I was fairly certain the desert would've taken us all unless we got very lucky.

"So, how bad were Artur's sunburns?" I asked. I glanced around at the others walking, but most were silent or talking quietly, with their hoods up to hide their faces. Up above, Eirika rode Brynhildr, though I wasn't sure who she'd pulled on. I heard no protesting growls, so it had to be someone Brynhidlr tolerated, but other than that, I'd left it to her discretion. I knew Tana flew near her, just in case. "He looked pretty red when I saw him during my check-up. His skin almost matched our hair."

"He's peeling now, but lotions and medicine are keeping him in good health," Joshua answered easily. He half-skipped across the sands, adjusting to a sudden shift in the footing. "So, I don't think he'll get sun poisoning, though I told him to watch out for nausea or dizziness. How did he get sunburnt? We're all pretty careful once the sun is up, specifically for this reason."

"Tethys was teasing him or something, and he forgot to make sure all of him was covered from the sun." I had no idea what exactly she teased him about, though. Something about how soft his skin was? "She feels bad about it. It's why she's walking with him."

"And here I thought she wanted to just tease him more."

"Well, maybe when he's feeling better." I glanced around at the others, frowning. Very little sound, still. Very little conversation. "Everyone is so quiet. We're never this quiet."

"They'll be better once they adjust. Give it a few more days, and I'm sure we'll have our typical chattering again."

"Are we sure? I mean; even L'arachel isn't as energetic and I thought nothing could steal her enthusiasm."

"I think she burned a lot of energy yelping at Ephraim over baring his shoulder."

"Which I still don't get. Her outfit has her shoulders showing and she's the one who asked to tend to his injury."

"I don't know, petal. Maybe it was more 'hot guy suddenly disrobing'."

"She's a healer."

"Different context, somewhat?" He laughed softly and shifted me higher on his back. "Speaking of her, though, when Natasha and I let the others know we were together, she mentioned something about a gift?"

"Rausten thing, I think." That reminded me of something else, from that same conversation. "Oh, hey, did she bring up perfume prices with you?"

"Yeah, and I don't even know. Maybe it was a bigger vial than she remembers. The two I bought cost me 4500 gold, with only a bit of haggling and charm."

"Only a bit?"

"I don't like haggling much. I'd rather pay the 'full' price to get a better feel of whether it's fair or not." Joshua sighed and made a face. "But wow, that much? And none of the extra makes it back here. We're definitely selling directly."

"Sounds good to me." A flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I turned towards it, frowning. I relaxed when I saw it was simply an animal, some sort of cat with long dark tufts at its ears. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" Joshua turned his head too, and smiled instantly. "Ah, that's a desert lynx. It's also called a caracal."

"Wow, you can tell from way back here that quickly?" I could barely see anything but the silhouette. "Really?"

"That one isn't too hard to identify." He nodded towards it as it disappeared behind a sand dune. "Did you see the long black tufts on the ears? That's a defining characteristic of their looks." His smile grew when we saw it briefly again, jumping up at something. "Must be hunting. They tend to hunt at night, and they eat just about anything they can catch. They're very agile and can jump incredibly high. I once saw one swat down a flying bird."

"You know a lot about them."

"I had a one as a pet, once."

"You did?" Somehow, I was both surprised and not surprised. "Huh." I settled down to relax, but another flicker of movement made me tense up again. This time, it was something white and small ducking into a burrow. "Did you see what that was? Tiny white thing near the hole in the ground?"

"No, but it might be a Fennec Fox. They're tiny and adorable with giant ears, and they're common fairly common, especially in this area." He grinned. "I had a pet one of those once too."

"You did?" I frowned slightly. "Why do I have a feeling you had a pet… everything?"

"I grew up with a softhearted father and a mother who couldn't say 'no' when both her husband and son pouted and said 'please'." He laughed, and the sound was somehow both warm and sad. "My father and I rehabilitated a lot of animals. I loved it. Drove Mother absolutely insane, but we could always get her to laugh."

"Did you have a lot of animals, growing up? I know you mentioned hunting hawks."

"Red-tailed hawks, yes. They were probably the only pet-pets we had. The rest were 'oh, we swear we will only take care of them until they are better, honest!' and then they lingered because they loved us. Mother would always roll her eyes and declare that we could never get another one, but inevitably Father and I found another hurt animal and the cycle began again."

Using the animals, I started asking Joshua a bit more about his childhood. We both had to be careful, since anyone could overhear, but he answered my questions easily, just as easily as he carried me on his back, hiking through the sands. I did end up nodding off, though. He was just comfy.

* * *

"Try to sit a little farther back," Cormag suggested as we flew through the brightening skies. We were looking for some sort of shelter for the day, since the heat would be unbearable before long. "It'll help you brace better when Brynhildr slams into things, and lessen the chances of you damaging your knees. Less impact for them to absorb."

"So, like this?" I asked, shifting back. It felt weird, but that was to be expected. It wasn't just a new sitting position, but this was a new saddle. My original one's straps could be fixed, apparently, but it required more spare leather than we had. So, my main worry was… "Let's see." I brought my bow up, like I was aiming an arrow. After a moment of pretending to aim, I nodded and brought it back down. "Might have to practice a bit for the different angle in relation to her wings, but this should work."

"I still can't believe they gave you archery training. On a flier."

"Yes, well, it works and leaves the close-ranged stuff to Brynhildr?"

"Which, admittedly, is probably a smart thing. But still, if you miss, you're putting a hole through your own wyvern's wing." Cormag looked so exasperated by the whole thing that I had to laugh. "I'd complain about your Brynhildr's insanity for going along with it, but unfortunately, I know for a fact that it runs in the family."

"I see." Still giggling, I checked the buckles on my legs, mostly making sure they weren't digging into my injuries, and then looked over to Genarog. As per usual, Genarog was keeping one eye on me, and one eye on anything that could threaten Cormag. He left the actual task of 'looking for shelter' to Brynhildr and us riders. "And how is he doing today?"

"He continues to be very contrite and guilty." Cormag smiled slightly, with just a touch of awkwardness. We were still trying to settle into some sort of 'comfortableness' given that his wyvern nearly killed me, my wyvern nearly killed him, and he still wasn't sure if he believed Tana or not. Considering all that, though, we got along rather well. I thought it was because we were both younger siblings who lost their families. "I'm rather glad we're not in an area with lots of deer, or we'd all be buried with his kills. He likes to hunt when he's trying to apologize, and thanks to his speed, he's very good at it."

"I think the fresh meat might help with morale. It did when Brynhildr hunted for us."

"I do not think even our group can eat forty fully grown deer in one day." He grimaced, clearly remembering something, and I burst into laughter again, this time from the sheer hilarity of the mental image. "Once, Genarog accidentally broke a figurine Glen really liked, so he…" He trailed off, his posture stiffening. He looked down quickly, attempting to hide the sudden surge of tears. I pretended to not notice. "Well, he's overzealous with apologizing. Genarog, I mean."

"I've noticed." I was getting used to the abrupt dropping of stories. Cormag did his best to not let anyone see, and to focus on the goal, but he had a hard time talking about his brother. I'd seen it many times, between offering to let him have Itroph's armor (refused for the simple reason that Itroph's armor would be too heavy for Genarog, and Genarog's armor wouldn't fit Brynhildr) and handing him General Glen's saddlebags (which we now just shared to store our more important things at his insistence, especially since my old packs hadn't been recovered). "How many times now has he hovered nearby just in case I needed a crutch?"

"A lot." Cormag lifted his head again, smiling slightly. It was pained, and his eyes still shone with the tears he refused to shed. As usual, I ignored both. "He's also brought animals as tribute to Brynhildr."

"I noticed that one too." I laughed when Brynhildr growled, saying 'it is a start, I suppose'. After a moment, Cormag joined in. "So, whoa!" Something flew right over our heads, and instantly, both of us were on alert. But we both gradually relaxed as we realized the 'something' was too small to be a wyvern, and it was, in fact, flying in front of us. It took only a moment to realize it was a large brown bird, flying gracefully. "What is _that_? Besides absolutely gorgeous, I mean."

"I think that's a golden eagle." Cormag watched the eagle fly with the same wide-eyed awe that I did. "Brave, that one. Most birds give wyverns and pegasi wide berths."

"That is so cool!" I watched it arc off, grinning as it slowly disappeared from sight. "I didn't know they flew so high."

"Some do and… Genarog, no, don't try to catch the eagle." He rested a hand on Genarog's neck and Genarog twisted to give Cormag a 'who, me?' look. "We're admiring the flight pattern and we can't do that if you snap it in half."

"Is he jealous or is he like 'oh, wait, they like this, I can get it'?"

"Both, though he'd never admit the former." He frowned and leaned forward slightly. "But looking down at the eagle was probably a good thing. I think I see a village."

"Hmm?" I looked in the same direction and, after a moment, the shadows did solidify into some buildings. "Oh, huh. We should let the others know. They might know of shelter for travelers."

"And back to my princess guard." He sighed and I had to resist the urge to giggle. "Why give a princess that job? Shouldn't that be something more for one of the knights?"

"She volunteered and everyone knows she's stubborn. Besides, she's a flier like you. She'd be up with us now if Achaeus hadn't pulled a wing muscle yesterday." I grinned, remembering her pout. She took the job of watching him very seriously. "Come on. You don't mind her, right?"

"No, I don't, though I really don't get how she can be so cheerful." He shrugged. "Well, never mind that. Down we go."

We both flew down to inform the others a village was on the path. Joshua suggested we visit simply because he thought he knew which one it was and, if he was right, then he knew of a ruin we could rest in. So, carefully, we continued on, worried that we'd scare the locals. And we did, since we were a group of strangers, some wearing clearly Raustenian armor, marching through Jehanna. At least, they were scared until Joshua waved. Then they welcomed us with open arms because Joshua, apparently, was popular. And when they saw Gerik, Tethys, and Marisa? It took a lot of persuasion to keep them from making us a damn feast!

"Is this your home village, Joshua?" Seth asked, sipping some sort of spiced drink. It was good, whatever it was. I had some too. "They know you well."

"No, my home is a few day's travel from here," Joshua explained. He grinned and waved as one child popped in close enough to hug him before dashing off again to do whatever chore they had. "But I've passed through on my way out of the country quite a few times over the years, and I've done some odd jobs for them. Besides, it's helpful to have friends in many places."

"I thought the phrase was 'have friends in high places'?"

"Well, I have those too. I'm friends with some of the servants in the palace, including one of Queen Ismaire's personal maids." Joshua grinned, and it took everything I had to not react to that bit of knowledge. That was absolutely ridiculous. _Ridiculous_. "Petal, is it too spicy?"

"No, I'm fine," I reassured. I did give him a 'you have got to be kidding me' look, and he winked, silently promising to explain later. "I'm just a little surprised we're being treated so nicely, so quickly."

"Well, Jehanna does have a policy of helping travelers, thanks to how bad the desert can get," Joshua reminded. He laughed as suddenly Ephraim and Innes got dragged into a child's game, with Ephraim jumping in with a laugh and Innes looking like he'd rather eat rotten lemons. Others, of course, had already joined in. "Should you save them, mister silver knight?"

"They're not in any real danger to anything but their dignity," Seth instantly retorted. Both Joshua and I laughed. "So, I think I will remain here to hide from people trying to sing me songs."

"Oh, right, those songs about you are really popular."

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?"

"Deal with it. You've the desert in your blood. We take pride in that." Joshua grinned. "But that explains why you're hiding, since those songs are the only thing that can get you to be grouchy and hide. Now why are you, petal?"

"Their well-meaning greetings of hugs and kisses kept pressing on my injuries," I replied. I still sipped my drink, really liking it, and looked at the others in our group. "I think everyone is getting a little overwhelmed by how free the villagers are with affection."

"Yeah, our group held back because we know where boundaries are, but these people don't know them yet," Joshua laughed. He nodded to where a group of Jehannans were clinging to Lute, happily hugging her and babbling out questions. Lute's face was turning redder by the second, but she also had a pleased smile. Artur, still somewhat sunburnt, helped keep things relatively calm. "Well, anyway, since this is the village I thought it was, there are ruins that'll be good to rest in. Which we should probably do soon-ish. Gerik doesn't like how the wind is blowing, and he's very good at reading the weather."

"Will it be big enough for the mounts?" Seth asked. He finished his drink and smiled. "What is this, by the way? It's very good."

"It's spiced milk, but with some rather unique ingredients, including orchid flour." Joshua smiled back. "But yeah, it should be. I think our scholarly folks will _really_ like it. But we'd better start extracting people."

"Lovely." Seth glanced down at me. "Emma, you stay here. You're almost healed from my understanding, but we shouldn't risk it."

"Yes, yes, I'll be good and sit right here with the amazing drink," I replied. I even found a little box to sit down on for emphasis. "But you might want to hurry. I think they started another game."

To my intense amusement, there were three more rounds of whatever game the children dragged everyone into, mostly because the children just climbed onto the more serious people like Seth, Kyle, and Gilliam, and the others were too busy laughing to try and stop them. I wondered why briefly, but knew the answer. It was a bit of fun when we were so tired. It was a smile when everything seemed dark. The village was a reminder of what we were fighting for and our spirits soared with it. After all, it was much easier to fight when you saw the people you were fighting for right in front of you. That was why I managed to keep on fighting, despite how exhausted it made me.

The people I fought for fought at my side, and that was why I kept strong. Which was probably the cheesiest thing I had ever thought in my life, and I was glad to be alone so that no one else saw me squirm with embarrassment. So glad.

* * *

Gerik ended up being right. We'd just barely managed to get everyone into the surprisingly intact ruins, including the mounts, before a sandstorm hit us out of nowhere. Even then, we had to run around and pin up blankets over holes in the wall, so that we didn't have bunches of sand flying inside.

"Gerik thinks this sandstorm will be a small one, only lasting a couple of days," Ephraim whispered. He and I had worked on the last of the windows together, mostly since it was for the room we had the wyverns in. "Here, I'll help you down."

"Thank you," I replied, sliding down Brynhildr's neck, so that he could help me off. In order to get the higher parts secured, I'd had to stand awkwardly on her and Genarog. Thankfully, neither had minded. "Still, that's a couple days lost."

"Yeah." He caught me as I slipped and set me gently down on the ground. "However, there's no way we can travel through this. We don't have the supplies to make it. We barely have enough to reach the capital at this rate."

"Right, we're still a few days off." Sighing, I checked on Brynhildr and Genarog, making sure that their blankets weren't going to slip off. I tensed when Genarog shifted, sharp teeth near me, but he carefully nuzzled my cheek in thanks. Brynhildr gave him a dirty look and nuzzled me too. "Now, now. Behave, both of you."

"Cormag will be by with your dinner later, so we'll see you two later." Ephraim offered me his hand and I took it to lean against him. My legs still weren't quite recovered enough to walk without help, but I was no longer in pain all the time at least. "Easy, the ground is uneven."

"Right…" As we carefully hobbled away, avoiding the halls where the ceiling had collapsed, I looked around. "Has anyone mentioned what this place is?"

"One of the oldest buildings on the continent, apparently. Joshua says that this is some old fortress, leftover from whoever ruled the desert before it fell and became the wasteland that King Kasimir eventually united to assist the other Heroes against the Demon King." Ephraim grinned. "Eirika is super excited and she's examining the carvings on the wall with Saleh and Lute."

"No Ewan? I would've thought he'd want to learn too."

"No, Ewan is playing pranks to lift morale and to see if he really can drive Innes up the wall."

"Poor Innes!" I laughed, amused by the mental image, but winced at a spike of pain around my shoulders and chest. "Ah… I need to sit down."

"Over here." He helped me over to some rubble, and had me sit. "Do I need to check anything for you?"

"Nah, I think I just strained a bit while putting up the blanket." I smiled reassuringly and sighed, leaning back against the cool stone of the wall. "You looked like you were having fun, back in the village."

"It's hard not to, when so many people are smiling at you." He leaned against the wall beside me, smiling brightly. "They're so cheerful. I was surprised, really."

"Did you think the cheer was just Joshua and Tethys?"

"I don't know what I thought, really. But it was fun talking with them." His smile faltered slightly for a more contemplative look. "They also talked a lot on how they hoped their crown prince would return soon."

"Did they?" I tried to not react. Knowing Joshua's secret really made things hilarious, and awkward. "Huh. Why is that a problem?"

"Not a problem. I'm more surprised at how much he's liked." His smile faded entirely, but he did give me a fond look. "After all, you have informed me how my recklessness cost me quite a bit of my people's affections, and this one ran off to be a mercenary."

"Well, yes, he did." I thought of what Joshua said about the people's affection and had to struggle to not show anything. In retrospect, quite a few of those conversations were painful. "I understand you thought about it? I think Eirika mentioned that once."

"I did, but maybe that is the difference. In my case, I just talked about it. I didn't actually _do_ it." He sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. It had water stains and mold growing on it, and I wondered what color it had been. "I complained, but still lived that life. I fought against the cage, but never really tried to escape it."

"True. But, in the interest of being fair, and this feels weird, but what Renais finds acceptable in a royal heir _is_ different from Jehanna." I shrugged, and immediately regretted it when pain echoed down my back. "Audaciousness is appreciated, for instance. Recklessness is laughed off with just a bit of a lecture. They see danger and blood, and simply sigh. But Renais… it doesn't."

"No, it doesn't." He laughed softly, with a touch of bitterness. "Audaciousness is likeable in 'heroes', but not in real people. Recklessness is scolded fiercely. Danger and blood is met with shock and horror. Eirika, in many ways, upholds the virtues Renaisi like in their people."

"Probably why people like her more, and why they were more forgiving of her flaws." I smiled when he gave me a confused look. "I adore her and she is my very best friend, but her kindness leads to her being easily tricked and she focuses a lot on the smaller picture. She can't hold back from helping someone, even if it means losing something. When one of Grado's people threatened a little girl for the bracelet, she almost gave it to them instead of thinking 'why would they need the bracelet?'." I tried to not wince at the memory. I still felt horribly guilty over it, and I knew it still haunted Eirika's nightmares. "You, on the other hand, can keep that distance. That's actually better for a ruler, even if you used that detachment for stupid things like not caring how your recklessness and general 'oh, hey, I am good at everything except not really because I keep away from the things I do not instantly grasp' stuff hurt people."

"Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"

"Neither. It's just the truth, as I see it." I leaned forward slightly, looking up at him. "You're still an idiot, but I can see why King Fado never made Eirika the heir instead. That's all. I can see why he had faith in you."

"I wish I'd been with him that day. I wish I could've understood him better, and that I could make him understand me." He closed his eyes, hiding the tears that appeared. "Ha, he might've thought I'd make a good king, but I bet I annoyed the living hell out of him in the meantime."

"Well, I didn't know him, so I can't say if you're wrong or right." Hesitantly, I reached up and took his hand. His eyes flew open, startled, but I ignored it to simply trace his palm, noticing the calluses. They were similar to the ones on my own hands. But his hands had more little scars, tiny testaments of how hard he had worked for the skill he prided himself in. "That is something to ask Garcia about, or Seth. But based on the little I know? I'd say the only thing he might've been annoyed about is that you were so much like him."

"That's…"

"Now I really shouldn't speak for a dead stranger and I could be completely wrong. But he is also the person my father died for and, based on the little I know about Dad, I can guess that King Fado was a good man, a good king, but an even better father. That's the sort of person my dad would've died for. So, I feel like he might've laughed at your recklessness, simply rolled his eyes at your fecklessness, and had faith you'd grow up, in time." I glanced up at him to see him still staring, so I decided to switch to teasing and pouting. "I do still think you should've gotten _so_ many more lectures, though. I know we mentioned it before in Caer Pelyn, but it's ridiculous. Monica would give me a three hour lecture if I forgot to say 'thank you' to someone, and yet you got away with way more than that."

"Ha!" He grinned then, and his expression softened. I still saw lingering hints of how he wanted to cry, mostly the tears still there in his eyes, but he had pushed it to the side, for now. "Well, it could've also been my upbringing. I told you how I was raised to be apart. I've little doubts Father was raised the same."

"Ah, yes, the awkwardness of two people raised to not show affection trying to communicate that they love each other. So ridiculous." I couldn't imagine that. I'd grown up with people who frequently made sure they knew how much they loved me. It had been my own self-pity that made me think they no longer did when I survived what others didn't. "But I'm sure he knew. Good parents seem to know their children well enough, and I think he was a very good father."

"…It feels very weird to have you encourage me through compliments instead of utilizing my competitiveness."

"Have I been doing that?" I gave him the most innocent look I could. "I simply gave you the truth, as I saw it." I grinned when he gave me a skeptical look. "Yes, yes, it's weird to compliment you too. I can go back to insulting you, if you'd like."

"No, not tonight. My ego can't take it."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, yes? Then again, does your ego need to get stronger?"

"Very amusing." He sighed gustily and I giggled. "We got way off-topic, but I don't even remember why I started that conversation in the first place now."

"Oops?" I simply smiled. "Say, if you could meet the crown prince of Jehanna, would you?"

"Well, yes. He'd be king, and I… I _will_ take the throne and restore Renais. I will earn their trust, little by little." He caught my hand in his and smiled warmly. "So, I'd like to meet him for diplomatic reasons. Plus, I think he might be a good friend."

"What makes you say that?"

"He said he was going to do something, and then kept his word. Maybe it wasn't the best choice, but that's a sincerity few have, in my opinion. It's certainly something I'd love to rely on."

"I see." I squeezed his hand and then used it as a lever to pull myself up. It kept me from laughing, because he already _was_ friends with Joshua. "Well, come on. We need to return to the others and let them know we did finish and didn't fall on our heads."

"Right."

He helped me hobble again, and we walked in silence. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, because it left me with my confusing, rather selfish thoughts. I was proud, certainly, though I was also a little bit skeptical. I was sad, but also happy? It was weird, and they bounced around into a confusing mess in my head.

This was all just ridiculous.

* * *

"And that is the last of the bandaging," Natasha murmured, sitting back on her heels. I yawned and shifted to curl up on her lap. We'd been stuck inside the ruins for two nights, and all of us were either going stir-crazy or were just plain sleepy all the time. I was the latter. "Am I comfy?"

"Very," I replied, grinning up at her. She also smelled nice, apparently using some of Joshua's frankincense perfume. Or maybe it just lingered on her now. I had no idea. "So, what's the prognosis? Still on the road to recovery?"

"Yes, I believe it'll be a few days still, but we should be able to remove the stitches in your side tomorrow." She rested a hand on my abdomen before switching to simply running her hand through my hair. "You can begin _light_ exercises tomorrow to help rebuild your strength. Just light, though, and under supervision."

"Again, why do people talk to me like I'm a problem patient? I do actually listen, you know." I sulked, but she simply laughed. "Oh, whatever. So, how are things with you and Joshua~?"

"That's…!" Natasha went bright red and looked off to the side, towards her pack. I just giggled, pleased with my retaliation. "Well, they're… going?"

"Uh-huh. Come on, you can tell me more! I mean; I know you've kissed, and I know you don't share a tent. Yet."

"Well, I need to be close to the infirmary in case of an emergency." She sighed and shook her head. "But, goodness, is that something to simply ask someone outright?"

"Maybe not with other people around, but it's just us." We were in a side room away from the others, mostly to give me privacy. Thanks to the extensive bandaging, I needed to disrobe to change them. "And it's the duty of a little sister to tease the older ones."

"Silly." She smiled softly, even though her face was still as red as my hair. "Adorable, but silly."

"Yay~!" I laughed and, after a moment, she joined in. "So, you're happy? Joshua seems happy."

"I am very happy, as much as I can be, given this war."

"Right, the war." I sighed, my enthusiasm waning slightly. It wasn't like I forgot or anything, but it was still a somber thing. And thanks to that somberness, I remembered something I wanted to ask. "Hey, Natasha?"

"Yes?"

"How did you decide? And I don't mean, you know, decide you were in love with him. I mean, how did you…" 'How did you decide to be queen?' 'How did you figure out that you could be that?' I could think the words, for whatever amount of sense they made, but I found it hard to voice.

But Natasha understood anyway. "Well, truthfully, I'm still not certain on becoming queen. It's a scary title and a job with a lot of pressure and duties. I'll have to learn a lot, about Jehanna and about my duties."

"So?"

"So, it's a scary thing. But I can still help people, which is all I have ever really wanted, growing up. I can still heal them, and I can still listen to their woes." She smiled gently and warmly, with eyes both soft and determined. "That is some of it, at least."

"Ah." I fell silent then, trying to not sulk. I'd hoped for a little more insight into my own problem, but I couldn't really think of it that way. 'Helping people' outside of those near me… it was a valiant ambition, but never one I'd had. Then again, I never really knew 'what' I wanted to do when I grew up. I'd always treated everything like it would last forever, taking everything for granted. Then when I lost it, I was lost in depression and apathy, not really able to see any paths, much less which ones I wanted. Even now, my thoughts would stumble and fall if I thought 'what do I want to do when the war ends'.

I had no plans. I had no place I wanted to go, besides the vague 'semi-quiet life'. I only really knew what I _didn't_ want. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to be the center of attention. I didn't want to lose my friends. But that was the extent of it, really.

"You've become moody suddenly," Natasha observed. She went back to running a hand through my hair. "Ah, wait, are you in love with Prince Ephraim?"

"…Gods damn it!" I groaned, covering my face with my hand. It was the only way I could think of to hide my mortification. "That is the second time someone's guessed correctly!"

"Well, my other guess was Prince Innes, but you spend more time with Prince Ephraim. I couldn't think of another reason why your mood for falter." She smiled warmly. "So, am I right?"

"Yes…" Sighing, I let my hand fall and I curled a little more into her lap. "I do. But I like my simple life. I don't want to be queen. So…"

"I understand." She stopped running her hand through my hair to touch my cheek instead. "But, you should think of the question in a different way, like I did."

"I'm afraid 'can I still help people?' is not a question that helps define my life's choices."

"Of course. So, I ask you a different question." While she still smiled, there was a seriousness to her demeanor now. "Will you be happy?"

"Huh?"

"Will you be happy? Can you be _happy_ being the queen, even if you know it's not a job you'd pick? That's a far more important question to ask, Emma." She poked my cheek as I continued just… staring at her in shock. "If you think you can be, despite that, then you should take that leap of faith. That's what I think."

"I… uh…" I really had no response. I hadn't thought of it that way before. I hadn't thought about it at all. "Um…"

"Later, of course. There's too much else to focus on for now." She laughed softly. "Anyway, sit up. I have something for you."

"You do?" I pushed myself up, frowning. "Really?"

"Yep. I finished making it yesterday." Natasha rummaged through her pack and pulled out a handmade charm that I recognized instantly. After all, I owned one, though no amount of cleaning had gotten the blood out of it. "I promised I'd make you a new one, remember?"

"I do…" I took it shyly, clutching it to my chest. I'd been barely conscious, so I hadn't brought it up again, but I did remember. And I was touched she remembered too, given how hectic that day had to have been. "Thank you."

"It's fun to make, and I feel like it's a good way to thank them for watching out for you that day." She smiled brightly. "I plan on burning incense for them, of course, the next time we're in a temple, but for now, this and prayers."

I didn't know what to say but, thankfully, I didn't have to. L'arachel peeked in, asking if we needed help and after reassuring her that no, we didn't, I had just needed some 'big sister advice', we rejoined the others in time for the traditional dinner and songs. I held onto my charm until I could tuck it into my pack, my main pack, next to the bloodstained one. Twice as much luck, perhaps. But they were both signs of Natasha's affection for me, and so, I was holding onto both for as long as I could.

* * *

I woke up all at once, not sure why. I pushed myself up out of the nest-mess of blankets and pillows I'd been sleeping in. Because so few rooms were secure, not completely filled with dust and mold, and weren't partially collapsed, we had one big sleeping room for the girls and one big sleeping room for the boys. The girls' had the blankets and pillows all piled together for maximum warmth and comfort, at Tethys's insistence. Certainly none of us complained, and a quick look showed that no one else was awake. They all slept peacefully.

Frowning, I stood up, shivering at the cold. I stole a loose blanket, pulling carefully to make sure no one had claimed it, and wrapped it around me. Then I tiptoed out of the room, checking on what had startled me awake. Noticing the silence, I peeked outside and realized the sandstorm had finally died out. I stepped outside, surprised, and found myself admiring the skies. It was filled with stars, more than I'd ever seen really, and with no trees or mountains to block the horizon, they just stretched endlessly. It looked like every little bit of space in the sky was filled with them, and they almost shimmered in the darkness. It was beautiful, and somehow hopeful. The darkness of the night held back by tiny sparkles of light.

I took a couple more steps, feeling the sand shift underneath my bare feet, and, on impulse, began singing. I sang softly, mostly so that I didn't wake the others, but I sang really whatever I wanted, sometimes changing the songs midway through just because another snagged my attention. I wasn't really sure why I had wanted to sing. Maybe it was to fill the silence that I had grown unused to in the past few days. Maybe it was simply because something so pretty inspired some sort of creative outburst and singing was all I could do. I wasn't sure, but there was something amusing about it.

At least, until I heard something behind me. I twisted, wincing as the bandages pulled at still-healing skin, and opened my mouth to yell for Brynhildr. I paused, though, when I realized it was just Forde, who had at some point ended up sitting _on top_ of the doorway, basically where some of the structure had fallen.

"Ah, evening, there!" he greeted with a grin and a wave. "Sorry to startle you. I was just admiring the view." He held up a piece of paper and, from here, I barely caught sketches of stars, endless sands, and someone with long hair wrapped in a blanket. Me. "I thought about saying something, but the songs were so pretty. I couldn't bear to interrupt."

"I see," I replied. Part of me felt annoyed, but most of me was relieved. It would be just my luck to let my guard down and then get stabbed by some assassin. "Orson mentioned your skill with a brush and drawing."

"Aw, he let his sister know my secret? For shame, Orson!" He laughed, but there was an edge of pain to it. Orson's betrayal had likely hurt him as much as it had hurt the others who'd known him. "Well, I guess that's to be expected. He did say he had a hard time keeping secrets from you."

"Oh, he talked about me?"

"Yeah, he mentioned you a lot." He smiled, and there was something sad hidden in it. "We both had 'younger siblings', so we chatted often. He gave me advice when I worried about Franz, and teased me about my flirtations."

"He always worried that you smiled too much and hid your pain. I'd always just tell him to make sure you had things to really laugh about and to stop fussing."

"Somehow, I can see that perfectly." He snagged a couple of things I couldn't see and climbed down so that I didn't have to strain my neck looking up at him. "Well, I have to admit. I wasn't expecting to talk with you. You keep to yourself a lot."

"Oh, gods, is this another attempt to psychoanalyze me?" I scowled. "No offense, but…"

"No, it's just an observation. I mean; I could try, but I'd probably be way off base." He shrugged and set down his things: a sword and a pack. He still held the paper with the sketch. "Everyone reacts differently to grief and stress, and if withdrawing keeps you from breaking down, then have at it! I prefer napping, personally, and painting."

"Why bring it up, then?"

"Hmm…? Oh, right, yes, almost lost the thought." He grinned suddenly, eyes sparkling. "You know; you and Prince Ephraim are very fun to draw."

"What?" I stared at him blankly for a second and went red as I pieced together why he'd say that. "Oh, gods, seriously? Seriously? Is it gossip or something?"

"Nope. It's just an observation. He is my lord, regardless of how lazy I am, so I know his moods. He smiles his normal smile when you're around, and it's been a rare sight, so I watch and sketch to immortalize the moment. After a while of very careful observation, you do notice a pattern."

My face was just getting redder and redder. "That's a little… um…" Failing any sort of polite response, I opted for a glower and anger. Anything besides curling up in a ball and crying from sheer humiliation. I hated being red so easily by people I didn't know well, and I _hated_ being teased about this. "Isn't it rude to sketch someone without them knowing?"

"Eh, maybe, but it's not like I sell the things." He, however, just shrugged off the glower. "Though, if you'd like, I can show you one." He pulled a book out of his pack, stuck the paper in, and then flipped through it. "Here we are." He pulled out another paper and passed it to me. "Take a look."

I took it dubiously, still annoyed. But that annoyance softened when I actually looked at the sketch. It was of Ephraim and me, just us, with him laughing at something, and me smiling yet exasperated as I held onto some sort of towel. I had bandages, meaning it was a recent drawing, and the trees in the background told me we'd been at an oasis. That let me piece together what this was from. At the last oasis, someone had started a splash fight for inane reasons and dragged most of the army into the madness. I'd stayed out, due to my injuries, but someone had splashed me anyway. Ephraim had laughed, but given me a towel to help me dry off and served as my shield instead of participating.

"This would've been only a handful of seconds," I whispered, returning it to him. I couldn't decide if I wanted to hold onto my anger or let my genuine awe for his talents drown it. "How do you…?"

"Good memory, mainly," he answered. He tucked the sketch carefully in the book again and returned it to his bag. "But I do prefer landscapes for that reason. Less to remember."

"Orson mentioned you didn't really do portraits."

"Not intentional ones. The smiles get stiff after a while, you see. If I'm sketching people, I'd rather it be them smiling freely, like in this one."

"And there's another reason." I smirked slightly when he started. "There's always another reason."

"Well, yes..." His smile faltered very briefly. "But I'd like to not think on it, if you don't mind."

"No worries. We all have out secrets." I glowered again, feeling the prick of tears as I thought of how I had a _third_ person bring up my feelings. "Speaking of which, seriously, is it gossip or something?"

"Is what gossip?" He feigned innocence, but he let it fade when he noticed how annoyed I was. And, embarrassingly, how I was on the edge of tears. "Whoa, whoa! Hey, I'm sorry. I did mean to tease, but not to hurt your feelings." He hunted through his pockets and passed me a handkerchief. I took it, mostly to have a cover, just in case. "No, nothing is gossip. I mean; some people go 'hey, there's a nice little atmosphere around them, I wonder if they'll develop feelings', but unless someone is paying close attention, I doubt…" He paused, thinking. "Okay, slight rephrase. Paying close attention _and_ knows the people in question. You can hide how you're feeling fairly decently and, really, most people just focus on how you're not quite as melancholic around Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika, and others but still. Prince Ephraim can be hard to read, so it does take a bit of time to learn, and anyway, I really do mean it when I say it's not gossip and the closest to 'gossip' is 'oh, hey, wouldn't it be fun if they did?' and… uh…"

"That… was a long rant." I let myself giggle and my anger faded. I was still annoyed and embarrassed, but I wasn't quite as close to bursting into tears from it all. He was just too sincere for it. "Or ramble. Ramble might be the better word."

"I… yeah, maybe." He laughed sheepishly. "But I am sorry. Really, I just thought I'd tease a little, but clearly that crossed a line."

"It's all complicated." I sighed and did finally use the handkerchief to dab at my eyes, to make sure the tears didn't fall. I thought I caught the very faint scent of lavender on it. "And I just really don't like people reading me. I like my quiet."

"You are probably in the worst group ever for 'quiet'."

"Well, yes, but…" I shrugged, and folded the handkerchief. "I'll make sure to wash this."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"No, but I feel like it." I glowered again and he threw his hands up in surrender. "So-"

"Hold on." In an instance, his playful demeanor dropped and he narrowed his eyes at something behind me. "Thought I saw movement."

"Really?" I turned to look and frowned when I caught something too. It might've just been sand on the wind, but… "I saw you had a sword."

"I do."

"Then let's investigate."

Carefully, the two of us approached where we saw the stirring. Forde took point, which made a lot of sense since he was the one with a weapon. As we got closer, I noticed that the stirring was from something buried under sand, a very large something. I wondered just what that something could be, until there was a shift of movement, a falling of sand, and I barely caught sight of a grimy, but still noticeably white, feather. At that, Forde and I both surged forward and started digging as frantically as we could. Very soon, we uncovered a barely breathing pegasus, desperately trying to shield its coughing and barely breathing rider. It took a while before we got them freed and then, we had to help them hobble into the ruin. I took charge of the pegasus, while Forde carried the rider.

As soon as we did get them inside, I screamed, at the top of my lungs, "HEALER! WE NEED A HEALER!"

Gods, this was going to be all sorts of bad, wasn't it?

* * *

As expected, screaming 'healer' got a rapid response and, also expected, it was all sorts of bad. The person had been one of Innes's spies, one that had infiltrated Jehanna's capital, Zada, and they'd nearly killed themselves via flying through a sandstorm because they learned crucial information. And that information knocked the wind out of most of us.

"Jehanna hall has _fallen_?" Gerik repeated. The rest of us in this impromptu war council meeting were too stunned to move. "And it was a _bloodless_ takeover?"

"That's what the report said, and my spy thought it important enough to try flying through a damn sandstorm to get that information to us," Innes growled. He glowered at the ground and I knew he was thinking 'damn it, are we walking into another freaking trap?'. "I know Jehanna doesn't have that good of defenses, but isn't Queen Ismaire a strong swordswoman?"

"She used to be," Joshua whispered. He sat between Gerik and me and kept himself perfectly still and calm. I leaned into his side reassuringly anyway, because I knew how scared he had to be. "But she last fought a battle, a real battle, twenty-five years ago. She helped rule the country with her husband for fifteen years, and has been ruling alone for ten. Plus you have to account for the fact that the reputation was made when she was twenty, not forty-five. As you get older, you start losing muscle mass and your bones start weakening. You start feeling the effects of a lifetime of fighting, from aching joints and muscles that refuse to relax."

"I know many mercenaries who have to retire in their thirties due to severe arthritis," Gerik added. He glanced around at the others in the group: Innes, Eirika, Ephraim, Joshua, Gerik, Seth, L'arachel, and me. Forde should've been here too, but he'd escaped with the excuse of checking on the horses. I wished I'd thought of the same before getting stuck here. Maybe I could've joined the patrols Seth and Gilliam were organizing, to check if there were others lost in the sands. "Your body remembers each injury it's taken and it gets back at you for all the abuse you made it endure. I've heard Queen Ismaire has to wear a brace on her wrist sometimes to help with the pain there."

"And, again, she's been ruling a country. You don't get a lot of practice time in when that happens. You have to basically schedule it in." Joshua subtly tensed next to me, and I had a sudden feeling that hadn't been all that she had to 'basically schedule'. I'd bet she had to 'schedule' time with her son as well. "My current guess is that she was taken hostage. It's the only scenario that makes sense to me, at least."

"Yeah, if she was hostage, then everyone would lay down their arms." Gerik closed his eyes. "What else do we know?"

"Ah, yes," Innes sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose briefly before glancing at the notes he'd jotted down. "It seems Prince Lyon is in charge of the Grado forces here."

"Really?" Ephraim asked. While Eirika looked stunned, Ephraim looked skeptical. "That sounds off. I have little doubts he leads in name, but I think someone else is actually in charge. Lyon's a powerful dark magic user, certainly, but he couldn't even play chess because he felt bad about sacrificing pieces."

"It could've been an act."

"I've known Lyon for years. If it is an act, it's the cleverest in all the world and he was playing the longest game ever." Ephraim gave Innes a droll look. "I won't say he couldn't have changed. Gods know something happened to Emperor Vigarde. But still." He shrugged, letting the look fade for polite listening. "Name of the general?"

"Caellach, as suspected. Surprisingly, there's only a few wyverns. We'll have to ask Cormag why that might be."

"Could it simply be that they're still reorganizing with General Glen's death?" Eirika suggested. Her stunned look had faded for a more neutral one, but her hands shook in her lap. I wished I'd been sitting beside her to better comfort her, but I was seated across from her instead. Thankfully, L'arachel took her hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "I imagine even if it was planned, it would take a bit to account for everything."

"That's certainly plausible," Innes agreed. His eyes still narrowed, but we knew it was simply because assumptions were dangerous right now. He was tense enough that I half-felt I should pat his back or something, easy enough since I was seated next to him, but I decided against it. "Well, we'll worry about that later. Plans. We need plans. This is no longer 'moving quickly to arrive before the enemy'. It is now 'sneak into enemy territory'."

"Well, there's your answer there," Gerik pointed out. He was back to looking relaxed, but his eyes were sharp. "We sneak in. We cause some chaos."

"Rally the people and guards," Joshua added. He maintained that air of nonchalantness, but he snuck his hand down to mine to squeeze. "Throw the enemy out before reinforcements arrive. Jehanna Hall is an old fortress, so if we're clever, we could hold out a siege in it, if needed."

"The trick will be hiding until then. The Guild can only house so many, and honestly, I'm not sure where the mounts can hide." Gerik started tapping his leg, frowning. "The two wyverns can just hide in plain sight, likely, but the rest…"

"There are stables. They aren't large, but there are some. The pegasi will be the hardest, but a few extra horses won't catch eyes, if we're careful. As for shelter…" Joshua hesitated before nodding. "I do know people, and I have even more favors to call on."

"I've a few of the same, truthfully, and this is our home. We know the area well."

"So, basically, stage a revolt, carefully planned, and then use the chaos to get inside the castle and rescue the queen?" Ephraim summarized. He frowned and shared a look with Innes. "Sounds good for now, though we do need information. Can we rely on you two for that?"

"Tethys would be better than me, but yep, just as we said, we can get you that," Gerik confirmed. He glanced at Joshua, and Joshua nodded back. "We'll also need to move in much smaller groups. Tethys can be in that first group."

"Same with me," Joshua added. "I'll have different contacts that you and I might be able to get information from the castle. I'm friends with some of the servants there."

"Oh, nice. I know one of the gate guards, so providing they're not prisoners, we can get some pretty decent information."

"Friends in many places save a mercenary's life."

"Very."

"My pardon, but what orders should I give my Rausten knights?" L'arachel asked quietly. She still held Eirika's hand, and faced us all calmly, with little of her usual exuberance. "I can't imagine it'll look well if they infiltrate with us…"

"If they don't mind, then truthfully, we can use them as the 'obvious bait force' to help hide our infiltration," Innes murmured. Again, he and Ephraim exchanged a look. "They'll be moving slower anyway, thanks to their cavalry. So, speaking of those groups, all the cavalry, as well as Vanessa and Tana, will need to be last. The sands limit the horses' movement, and the pegasi are fairly obvious."

"I'm sure they won't mind." L'arachel squeezed Eirika's hand and stood up. "I'll go let them know now, so that they can go ahead and reach a different road than ours."

"Ask Natasha if she'd mind infiltrating in the first group," Joshua requested. He scowled as everyone gave him a look. "Oh, for crying out loud, nothing to do with having her with me. I know your spy said 'bloodless', but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way. It's a few days to there, meaning we'll be entering the city on information that's over a week old. I'd love Colm along as well, in case we need to pick a lock to a storage place to hide initially."

"May I come along as well?" I asked. Now all eyes turned to me. "Brynhildr won't stand out as much, due to being a wyvern, and if Natasha is going, then I'll have a healer to help with my injuries, which by the way, are almost healed. I can get an aerial view of the city, to get a view of any potential patrols or heavy guard on the borders, and if things go very bad, which is entirely possible, then Brynhildr can ferry people away. I'm not bad in a fight, I've been doing very well with bows, and I can play along with stories quickly."

"All very true." Joshua squeezed my hand and his small smile told me he appreciated it for personal reasons too. "Well, I've no problems with it. But I wouldn't want a larger group than that, for the initial group at least. We'll have the hardest time sneaking in."

"Right." I thought of something and leaned around Joshua to look at Gerik. "Hey, does Marisa have clothes that Natasha and I could borrow for when we actually enter the city? Or at least just Natasha? Her clothes are very obviously not typical Jehannan wear."

"And Jehannan clerics dress differently," Gerik murmured. He closed his eyes briefly before nodding. "She might. Tethys might have some too. Won't hurt to ask, at least. But I doubt they'd have enough for everyone. Then again, as already mentioned, that first group will be in the most danger."

There was a little more talk and then it was a whirlwind of movement to get ready to go. Everyone agreed with the plan, and the only protests were those who also wanted to be part of the first group. Tethys promised to lend me some of her clothes when we got there, while Marisa got some of her extra for Natasha. Extra medicinal kits were thrown into packs, some of the rations, some of the money. Cormag and I agreed that he'd hold onto General Glen's packs to lessen the amount of things I had to worry about, and he helped me hide some of the more 'distinguishing' marks on Itroph's armor.

While I was finishing checking on Brynhildr's saddle, the final preparations, I noticed Eirika lingering near. She fidgeted with her hands and played with her hair, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Nervous. She was nervous.

"You okay?" I asked, turning to face her. She immediately jumped. "Now I know something is up."

"Oh, well, it's…" she began. She glanced down briefly before looking up sheepishly. "It's really not much. It's just… I just realized that this will be the first time we've been separated since this all started."

"It… is, huh?" It took a moment to actually process that and when I did, a strange unease washed through me. "Yeah, that's right. Ever since you picked my house to hide in, we've been together. You, me, and Seth."

"Right, but I'll be in one of the earlier groups, maybe the third, and Seth will be in one of the last. So…" She shrugged helplessly. "It just hit me suddenly."

"Yeah." I reached out and snagged her in a huge hug. "I promise I'll be okay. I'll see you in the Zada."

"Right." She hugged me back just as tightly. "I'll see you then, and we're both laugh at how silly we are."

"Exactly." I pulled away from the hug and both of us started laughing. "We're so weird."

"The weirdest." She stepped away and smiled brightly. "But yes, I'll see you soon. If I am in the third group, then I'll probably be a day or two behind you, at most."

"See? No big deal! We'll totally be fine." I looked up as Brynhildr crooned and smiled when she leaned down to nuzzle Eirika's cheek. "See? She's telling you the same."

"Well, then I know it's true." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before nodding. "I think they're just waiting on you before leaving."

"I'm not surprised. Natasha would be the only person with as much stuff to check as me." I felt anxious, like the first time Monica and Orson had left me alone in the house. It was a silly feeling. "Let's save Jehanna, yeah?"

Eirika saw us off, of course. She, Ephraim, Tana, and Innes all saw us off. We made sure to wave and smile, to give off a show of confidence, but as we passed out of sight, our demeanors became grim, serious. And confusion, at least for me. How could Jehanna Hall have fallen? How could Queen Ismaire be in danger? I'd grown up on stories of how strong and loyal Carlyle was. Certainly those stories were biased, Mom had been a friend of his, but still, he was the leader of the Knights of Oasis. He should've been able to at least keep Queen Ismaire safe. Even if she was hostage, I couldn't see how we wouldn't have heard about him from the spy.

So, what the hell happened?

* * *

Author's notes: The animals mentioned are all animals known for living in desert, or semi-desert, environments. It's mentioned in Forde's supports with Eirika that he doesn't normally do portraits, and his supports with Franz reveal that the last one he did was of his mother, before she died.

Author's Note – Queen of the White Dunes


	23. Chapter 14) Queen of the White Dunes

Chapter 14) Queen of the White Dunes

* * *

 _Jehanna Hall has fallen. To bloodless conflict. There's little to no information on how or why. We have no real 'numbers' when it comes to the enemy. We have… next to nothing. Only a sense of urgency and a handful of guesses. We have to hurry, or Jehanna will be conquered. We have to hurry, or Queen Ismaire will die. I supposed there was trouble with the Sacred Stone of Jehanna, but honestly, I was certain it was already gone. It was the rest I worried about._

 _Gods, what is going on? How many more times are they going to be one-step ahead of us? This was getting old._

* * *

"If it was anyone but you, Joshua, I would call sneaking directly into the castle district of the city absolutely insane," Tethys hissed. All of us were tense, hiding in what little shadows there were while Colm picked a lock to some fancy building with beautiful stained glass windows and lots of worn carvings on the outside. It was an old building, whatever it was. "As it is, we're at the hottest part of the day, where the shadows are smallest, and we're in the middle of…"

"Hey, if I'm right, this will be perfect for us," Joshua retorted. He helped Natasha fix her cloak, and she smiled gratefully up at him. Natasha and I had both changed into more Jehannan clothing shortly before sneaking inside the city, but Marisa's clothes were far more revealing than what Natasha was comfortable with, resulting in Natasha all but clinging to her cloak. "Colm, how's the lock?"

"Almost got it," Colm reassured. He frowned in concentration, sweat dripping down his face and neck. I used my cloak to dab some of the worst off of him, and he nodded in thanks. "It's rusted, so it makes it harder, but nothing impossible."

"Sorry. If I remembered sooner, I would've given you better warning."

"We're fine." There was a quiet click, and Colm pushed the door open, coughing. "Holy hell, that's a lot of dust."

"Yeah, it hasn't been used in a while. Let's get out of the sun, shall we?"

Very quickly, we dashed inside and closed the door behind us. There was enough dust that we kicked up a veritable cloud just by stepping inside, and we all struggled to muffle our coughing as we ran down the hall and went to a large open room. It was hard to make out the color of the stone thanks to the dust and the rainbow of colors from the stained glass, but one thing was clear. It was absolutely empty. I could take a guess where paintings or furniture might've been, just by placements of pillars, but right now, there was nothing. Not even the tattered remains of anything. It was like whoever had lived here before had made sure to strip everything personal away, leaving only an empty ruin.

"Joshua, what _is_ this place?" Natasha finally asked, bringing down her hood. Sweat had plastered her hair down and she tugged it off of her neck with a grimace. "It's very finely made, but it's also so…"

"It's an embassy," Joshua explained. He dropped his packs on the floor, dust puffing up, and stretched out his legs, completely unconcerned. "Back from when things still weren't settled and you had ambassadors live more or less permanently in cities. Legally speaking, they're foreign territory, but we can get a bit of leeway on that given everything."

"Which country did this one belong to?"

"Rausten. So, it hasn't been used in about… oh… two hundred years, roughly? Probably hasn't had anyone come in for about as long."

"We'll need to check for mold, and… if we're staying here, we really will need to clean, for health reasons."

"Oh, yeah, it'll need some fixing up. But it's shelter and no one comes to these areas." Joshua smirked, as pleased as a cat with a bowl of cream. "Plus, they're designed for the countries they represent. So Frelia's has stalls for pegasi, Grado's has stalls for wyverns, all have stalls for horses with Renais's and Rausten's stables being particularly large…"

"So, aside from the dust, they'd actually be perfect hiding places," Tethys summarized. Her eyes sparkled, though she did cover her nose and mouth with a handkerchief. "Why not mention this sooner?"

"Like I mentioned, I legitimately forgot about them until we were here," Joshua explained. He had the grace to smile sheepishly. "Literally, we snuck in and I looked over towards the castle district and went 'oh, wait, the embassies, wow I am an idiot'."

"Silly."

"Hey, I at least remembered before we put a lot of work into finding other places to hide?" Joshua finished stretching and let his smile fall. "So, with shelter out of the way, what's the plan for everyone?"

"I can do a patrol," Colm pointed out with a shrug. He undid his cloak briefly to shake it out, coughing as dust wafted up. "Might be able to scrounge up a few things to help us clean the place too, but patrolling will be easy."

"Do be careful," I murmured, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I felt the urge to try and 'pull down my shirt to cover my stomach', but I couldn't really do that. I was wearing one of Tethys's midriff bearing shirts, along with my short skirt and boots. It showed off the scars I picked up from Evaicrag and Genarog, but thankfully, all they really showed what that I got attacked by a beast at some point. "This isn't Serafew. You'll stick out more, and I don't want to explain to Neimi why you're missing an arm."

"I'll be fine. I've gotten better at sneaking thanks to all the running about the battlefield. Been learning from Marisa too."

"Marisa is very good at being stealthy, while in battle," Tethys agreed. She smiled and looked over at Natasha. "As for me… well, the main temple isn't far from the Guild, so Natasha and I can pair up and hit both. Joshua, what's your plan?"

"Since you all are doing that, then petal and I can check to see if the other embassies are as deserted as I vaguely remember they should be, while I also go check in on a friend who doesn't live far away," Joshua decided. He glanced over at me, and I nodded, silently agreeing. "Wow, that was strangely painless. I expected arguments by now."

"Well, we also expected to be hunting for shelter, so I think having that settled a lot of the potential arguments."

"True." Joshua grinned. "Right. Let's leave separately, just in case. Meet at the Harp once dusk hits?"

"Sounds good to me." Tethys grinned back and took Colm's arm. "Colm, dear, leave with Natasha and me so that I can show you where that is."

While they left, Joshua and I tucked the packs in a back corner, just in case someone actually decided to walk in, and did a quick once over to make sure there weren't, say, a bunch of stray dogs and cats living here. Once we were fairly certain they were hidden and that the building was very empty, we snuck outside, closing the door behind us, and, after brushing off the worst of the dust, we started down one of the paths. He walked almost lazily, completely casual, but unfortunately, my nerves made me antsy and stiff. So, of course, we got caught. Most likely my fault.

"Halt!" A Grado soldier stepped into the path, blocking our way. I instantly ducked behind Joshua, pretending to be scared, while Joshua simply smiled charmingly, though he did drop a hand to his sword. "What are you two doing out and about?" they asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. I thought, at least. It was hard to see their face behind the helmet. "No one is allowed out at this hour."

"Is that so?" Joshua asked, perfectly calm and friendly. I briefly wondered why there was a midday curfew thing, but decided it had to be because it was so hot. Grado soldiers didn't want to patrol, and so, they prevented others from leaving to minimize potential revolts. "Sorry, must've not realized the time."

"Bah, Jehannans." They rolled their eyes, but relaxed slightly. They weren't looking for a fight, clearly. They were just doing their job, and likely wasn't happy to do it in this heat. "What are you doing out?"

"Heading over to a friend's house. She recently gave birth, you see, and needs some help around the house."

"You can wait on-"

"Please, sir?" I whispered, peering out from behind Joshua. It was hard making my voice quiet while mimicking Mom's accent, but I thought I managed well enough to fool them. "She really needs the help, and we meant to be there sooner, but cleaning the house took longer than we wanted and…"

"Oh, man…" the soldier groaned and facepalmed. Then they winced at the sweat, and possibly how hot their helmet was. "Ugh, and you're probably the same age as my sister…" He sighed, giving up. "Fine, fine, I am not being paid enough for this. Is it close?"

"It is," Joshua confirmed. His smile grew, still perfectly charming. "And I promise that we're just heading over there. We'll be good and stay inside until it's okay to leave. So, go on and get back to the shade. I imagine you want to get out of this heat with that metal armor. This is why Jehannan's favor leather, if they wear armor at all."

"Yeah, but General Caellach told us to suck it up." They rolled their eyes, but stepped to the side. "Be quick, please?"

"Sure." Joshua hunted through his pockets and passed the soldier a few gold. "Here. There's a good tavern just down the street. That should get you some of the good quality beer and, believe me, it's heavenly when you've been stuck outside."

"You are a bad, bad man." The soldier grinned, though. "All right, go on. But if you get caught again, I don't know either of you."

"Of course!" Joshua winked, and took my hand as we walked down the path again. "Come on. No need to be shy around the nice man."

"I-I am not shy!" I pretended to protest, making sure to keep the accent. It was difficult, but hopefully, the soldier wasn't paying attention. "Stop embarrassing me in front of strangers!" We continued 'bickering' down the way until we were out of sight of the soldier, and then Joshua hopped off the main path and led us through some alleyways to avoid catching sight of another soldier. I worried about Tethys, Natasha, and Colm, but I had to trust them. There wasn't anything I could do, but follow Joshua, after all.

Before long, we reached a small home with wind chimes quietly ringing in the dry wind and Joshua knocked on the door without hesitation. "Gareth, you in there?" he asked softly. No immediate answer. "It's Joshua, with a friend."

"Joshua?!" There was the sound of rummaging and scraping. "One sec! Need to move… there!" The door opened, revealing a man about Joshua's age with short red hair, brown eyes, and a warm smile. "Joshua, you son of a bitch, it's great to see you," he greeted, hugging him. Joshua immediately returned the hug. "Come in; come in. This your friend?"

"My name is Emma, sir," I greeted, following them inside and shutting the door behind us. I couldn't help but smile at all the brightly colored decorations. It reminded me of home, back when Monica was alive. Except for the pile of semi-heavy things pushed off to the side, suggesting there had actually been a barricade. "I'm Joshua's little sister~"

"Pardon?"

"Petal is like a little sister, and teases me relentlessly," Joshua explained. He took off his hat and sat down in a chair, sighing. "Gods, your house is as relaxing as always, Gareth."

"Glad you think so, considering I had to move a barricade," Gareth answered, rolling his eyes. He gestured for me to sit down too and jumped into the back, likely where where kitchen was. "Here. I'll get you guys some mint tea. When did you get back, Joshua?"

"Not long ago, after hearing what happened here. How's Sarah?"

"Getting Lance to take a nap, or trying to, at least. He's in his terrible two's." There was the sound of clanging. "Grr… where did I put those mugs?"

"Check the cupboard above the sink!" Joshua snickered and smiled at me as I finally sat down. "Right, quick explanations. Gareth is a blacksmith, petal, and he's the one who made my sword, actually. Best in the business. His wife, Sarah, is one of Queen Ismaire's maids. Lance is their son, and he is adorable."

"Oh, I see," I murmured. There were many ways to respond, but I decided we needed some laughter. I needed it, at least. "So, they can help you out when you and Natasha have kids~?"

"Petal!"

"Natasha?" Gareth returned and set four mugs down on the table. "Who's Natasha?" he asked, curious, passing the mugs out, leaving one by an empty chair. "I don't know that name."

"She's Joshua's girlfriend!" I chirped, grinning. Joshua was slowly turning bright red, and tried desperately to hide it. Failed, but tried. "She's awesome!"

"She must be, to deal with him!" Gareth grinned back and Joshua groaned, facepalming. He was red all the way to his ears. "You should bring her by next time, Joshua. We'd love to meet her. What does she look like?"

"Super pretty."

" _Super_ pretty? Wow, sounds too good for this one."

"Right?" I laughed when Joshua choked on a yelp. He was as red as his hair at this point. "Sorry, sorry, except not really?"

"I thought there was a ruckus." A lady with black hair and red eyes walked in then, saving Joshua from further embarrassment. "Joshua, welcome back," she greeted, smiling warmly. I gathered this was Sarah, and was amazed at the quiet refinement about her. "And welcome to you too, dear. I don't think I've heard your name, yet?"

"It's Emma," I replied, smiling back. I finally took the mug and sipped it. "This tea is really good, by the way. I haven't had mint tea since my mom died."

"Really?" Sarah sat down in the empty chair and took the mug in front of her. "Where are you from, then? Mint tea is a staple to our diets."

"Renais."

"… _Renais_?"

"Well, that's a good lead in," Joshua muttered. He shot me a dirty look, but I grinned, unrepentant. "Mind that we be serious and not try to kill me with embarrassment?"

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Gareth reluctantly agreed. His cheer slowly faded, but he did sip his tea first. "Though, Joshua, you being here is good for many reasons. See, we've been slowly gathering up mercenaries not on the job and the guards to try and take the castle back. If you're here, that'll help us significantly."

"That… lines up well with why I made sure to come here first." Joshua smiled slowly. I was surprised things would be that simple. We were so going to pay for this later. "Shall I tell my story first?"

"Oh, this is going to be good."

"Depends." Joshua shrugged and sipped his drink. "But, basically, I _am_ on the job. I'm working for Princess Eirika of Renais, and she and her eclectic group are actually on the way here to help throw Grado out."

"You are?" Gareth and Sarah exchanged a look. "Who's all with her?"

"Well, Emma and me here. A few healers, like Natasha. A few pegasus knights. A few Renasi knights. Prince Innes and Princess Tana of Frelia. Prince Ephraim of Renais." Joshua paused. "Princess L'arachel of Rausten."

"Rausten?" Gareth instantly tensed, and Sarah frowned, eyes dark. "Wow, one of them actually got off their high horse to help?"

"She also got soldiers, meaning healers, to come assist." Joshua smiled softly. "She's bombastic and a touch sheltered, but she's a sweet girl. Trust me."

"Trust you? Always. Trust a Rausten… well, we'll see."

"The only annoying thing about her is how energetic she is," I weighed in. I felt I had to, since I was friends with her. "I can't speak much to her soldiers, but they at least respect her and her uncle enough to not let any prejudices through. That I've noticed, at least?"

"As I said, we'll see," Gareth replied neutrally. I squirmed, but knew I had to accept it. It wasn't like tensions would disappear overnight. "So, a small and skilled group?"

"Huh? Oh, right, our group." I nodded, straightening in my chair. "Oh, Gerik is with us too.

"The Desert Tiger?"

"As well as Tethys and Marisa." I smiled proudly. "Tethys is actually in town. She snuck in with us."

"I see." Gareth frowned, but nodded. "I see. That's quite a group. So, we really should wait for you and yours and coordinate. That'll be our best bet for success, though I imagine it means we'll have to delay."

"Yeah. I know it sucks waiting, but they're not far," Joshua confirmed. He leaned forward slightly, and I nudged his leg and nodded to his untouched mug. He took it after a moment. "So, anyway, can you tell me more about how everything went to hell? Curious as to what happened, personally."

"Let me do that," Sarah volunteered. She set her mug on the table, and I was surprised to see it already empty. "I'm the last one to see Queen Ismaire before the surrender."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'd just finished tending to her hair for the evening." She clasped her hands in her lap, the picture of calm. Her smile was tight, though. "I left to continue my duties, and not long afterwards, Carlyle encouraged me to go home early for the day. I learned afterwards that he got as many servants out of the castle as possible before surrendering without a fight."

"Without a fight?" Joshua frowned. "Huh."

"Yes. I'm certain something happened to Queen Ismaire." She wrung her hands, posture stiffening. "I knew I should've stayed longer, but she wanted to be alone. The anniversary of King Raphael's death is soon, and she always wants to be alone then, but…"

"Easy. There's no way you could've known this happened. How long was there between you leaving her and Carlyle telling you to head home?"

"About five minutes." Sarah breathed in deeply, and regained her calm. "I think, at least. It could've been longer. They're letting no one in or out, but some of the servants have snuck in to try and find her. No success, but we're maintaining the paths to help actual armed forces to sneak in."

"I see. So, as soon as we have everything coordinated…"

"We'll be ready." All of us looked up as a bell began ringing then. It was strangely quiet and dull, like it wasn't used often. "That bell means that the midday curfew is over. Everyone will be leaving their houses to try and finish up the day's chores."

"Best that petal and I sneak out and join the crowd, then." Joshua stood and I jumped to my feet too. After hesitating, I made sure to down the last of the tea. It really was good. "Thanks, Gareth, Sarah. Tell your people to wait for mine, will you?"

"We will." She smiled sweetly, and Gareth was only a split-second behind her in smiling. "Don't worry. There's enough coolheaded people to calm the impatient ones. So long as it's not too long, we'll be fine."

"Be careful walking about, Joshua," Gareth told us. He leaned back in his chair, still sipping his tea. "Lance will want to play next time." There was a bit more of polite farewells, but then we left to check other places. Joshua and I walked in silence, jumping into the growing crowd to hide at the first opportunity. I took his hand to keep from being separated, and glanced around for anything suspicious. Nothing jumped out, though, except how tense most people were. No one was happy. Not one bit.

"Five minutes," Joshua whispered after a while. His eyes were narrowed, but he kept up a calm, amicable expression. "That's a decent sized window, but…"

"She didn't mention hearing sounds of fighting, right?" I asked quietly. I smiled at people as we passed, to hide how uneasy I felt. "You'd think you'd hear something, but she said there wasn't a single fight."

"Yeah, that's bothering me too."

"Could an assassin have hidden inside?"

"Maybe, but again, we'd expect some sort of fighting."

"True." There didn't seem to be anything else to say, so I changed the subject. "It's the anniversary of your dad's death soon?"

"I'll have to see a calendar to check, but…" He glanced around, focusing on the stalls. "Since there's no mourning colors up, I'd say we're a week off, maybe?"

"Should we ask?"

"A stall famous for its snacks is just ahead. We'll ask her. It might be good for reading the mood of the city." He grimaced. "The city is always gloomy when the anniversary comes up."

In between buying some sort of sweet thing I didn't get the name of, Joshua asked the stallowner about the death-anniversary and we learned that Joshua was right. It was exactly a week away. I wondered if that was a good thing, bad thing, or just a thing.

* * *

Joshua and I spent the rest of the day visiting his friends for more information, and checking the embassies. Both endeavors proved just as fruitful, though we had to calm down a few hotheads who wanted to jump the soldiers immediately. Once the sun began setting, we made our way to a popular tavern not far from the Guild to meet up with the others and quickly exchange information. Tethys's own sources more or less lined up to what we knew, Natasha confirmed that there were _no_ injuries associated with the takeover, and Colm had a map of the area complete with the patrols he saw, because he apparently carried paper and pen now. All in all, considering it had only been a few hours, we found out quite a bit of very useful things. The benefits of having friends in many places in a city full of annoyed mercenaries, apparently.

"The timing of everything just feels weird to me," Colm whispered. We were all talking quietly at a table, with most of us drinking beer. Natasha had insisted on juice, because she had no head for alcohol at all. I'd been hesitant, but I had to admit that this mug of beer was way better than the last one I'd had. Still not great, but I at least felt like I wasn't destroying my mouth with it. "I mean; I know I'm not the most experienced here, but five minutes to subdue a queen known for being a former mercenary and inform her right hand, who is considered one of the strongest swordmasters in all of Jehanna if not Magvel based on the rumors… without a single fight?" He grimaced and took a large gulp of his beer. "That makes no sense, even when spoken aloud."

"It does sound off," Joshua agreed. He hailed a waitress and ordered some sort of snack for us. The tavern was bustling with business, so not ordering something would've looked odd. "Now, if they'd taken a child hostage, I could see Queen Ismaire surrendering without a fight, but that just adds to it."

"No fighting, no blood, no… anything. If a child had been taken hostage, you'd think someone would've made it known by now."

"Exactly."

"Forgive me, but there's something I've been wondering," Natasha gently cut in. She smiled when the waitress returned with flatbread and some sort of dip. When I tasted it, I caught coriander and cumin, among others. "Why is it that no one considered a traitor? Specifically this Carlyle I keep hearing about?" She frowned when both Tethys and Joshua winced. Joshua's eyes also showed pain. "I'm sorry. I just want to know."

"I suppose it's because Carlyle is known for his loyalty, Natasha," I explained for Tethys and Joshua. I sipped my own beer and ate a little bit more of the snack. "It's as incomprehensible to Jehannans as… hmm…" I thought a bit for a good comparison. "As, say, Seth turning against Eirika and Ephraim." Once upon a time, I would've said 'Orson turning traitor', but that was clearly… "Oh."

"What's wrong, Emma?" She peered at me worriedly. "You look like you got a thought."

"Well, it's just…" I hesitated, trying to think of how to explain. I decided to just go for it. Bluntness was the best default. Sometimes. "So, question. If someone offered to bring back King Raphael, would Carlyle turn?"

"Oh, like your brother in law," Colm whispered. He smiled apologetically. "I bit my tongue on the whole 'known for loyalty' thing because of him, but I forgot with everything else that's been going on. There was a catalyst for his betrayal."

"Precisely, and Orson was known for being _loyal_ to Monica," I agreed, hiding how much my heart ached at the memory. It hurt to speak about him. It hurt even more to know that the love I had always teased Monica and him about, the love I had always admired… it hurt to know it had led him to insanity. But if it gave us a plausible motive… "So, let's play with that thought for a moment."

"There is a difference between the two, petal," Joshua pointed out. He held himself stiffly and Natasha subtly took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "King Raphael has been dead for ten years. How long has your sister been dead?"

"Six months prior to the start of all of this." I really did wonder how long it had been. It felt like lifetimes. Sure, I knew the date now, but I honestly couldn't remember when all this started. Every day had blurred together, back then. "But that's still enough time for decomposition to set in, right? What's the difference between bringing back someone recently dead and not-so-recently dead?"

"The amount of rot?"

"Decomposition more or less begins immediately after the body expires," Natasha murmured. She frowned thoughtfully, glancing up at the ceiling. The nearby patrons laughed at something we didn't hear or pay attention to. "Now, it depends heavily on many factors, but honestly, you can have bodies that look more or less intact despite being dead for a decade, while others will be completely decomposed all the way to bones in the same amount of time."

"Why does a healer know that?" Colm asked. He shuddered and pointedly pushed the food away from him. Tethys and Joshua continued to eat, unbothered, but I gave him a sympathetic smile. "Curious."

"Healers help the city guard investigate murders, and help determine the time of death, in Grado."

"Oh. Neat. And creepy. Not you, but the job."

"It's a needed one, sadly." Natasha shrugged, not minding in the least. "But, I will admit that there would be a difference between how decomposed the two bodies would be. That said, dead is dead. Bringing back the dead…"

"We've already seen one person go mad from the thought, no offense Emma." He smiled apologetically again and I simply smiled back. There was nothing to forgive. It was exactly what happened. "So, that could be it?"

"And I just had another thought," Tethys began slowly. She winked at a passing waitress, and got a refill for our drinks before continuing. "There's a rumor that's always been around. Something about Carlyle being in love with Queen Ismaire. Think he might've turned traitor in exchange for having her?"

"I think Queen Ismaire would chop off his balls for even thinking that. Slowly," Joshua countered instantly and dryly. He shuddered at the thought, and it almost hid the deep pain in his eyes. It hurt him to suspect Carlyle. But we had to, in order to try and figure out what was going on. "There's no way she'd cooperate."

"Oh, true, and it's horrifically creepy, but if that was promised? She wouldn't _have_ to cooperate for someone to promise it."

"…Well, it can't be ruled out, certainly." Joshua frowned, drumming his fingers on the table. "We're clearly dealing with strange circumstances, and… well, you'd know far more about entitled men than me."

"Precisely. That's why I thought I'd make that jump. Once I turn Carlyle from 'the epitome of loyalty' to simply another man in my mind, it wasn't too hard. Ish. I don't know him. I only know the self he showed the public."

"The calm, collected, loyal leader of the Knights of the Oasis, Jehanna's greatest swordmaster."

"Exactly." Tethys closed her eyes. "Besides, so many odd things have happened. For all we knew, he secretly resented-"

"No." Joshua's voice was a little terse and he coughed, embarrassed. "Sorry, that came out harsher than I intended."

"It's fine." Tethys smiled reassuringly. Colm nudged some food closer, while Natasha squeezed his hand again. She and I both knew just why Joshua wasn't able to keep quite calm in this. I wished I was sitting next to him so that I could hold his hand too, but I wasn't. I was between Tethys and Colm, directly across from him. "But, do you have a reason?"

"The oath the Knights swear isn't binding. They can rescind it, if they choose."

"Ah, so he's not trapped. He can leave if he wants."

"Yep." Joshua grinned, but Natasha and I shared a worried look because we could see it wasn't his normal one. He was trying so hard to hide it and keep up the act. "I won't say he didn't turn, but I don't think the secretly resenting angle should be what we're focusing on."

"Should we be focusing on this at all?" Colm asked. He nibbled on some of the flatbread and smiled. "Oh, hey, this is good."

"It's a Jehannan specialty," Tethys informed us proudly, with a bright smile. "But it's important in understanding just what is going on. It might change how we approach saving Queen Ismaire."

"If you say so."

"That said, it does feel like we're simply talking in circles," Natasha pointed out quietly. She ate some of the flatbread and dip and smiled. "Oh, this _is_ very good."

"Glad you like," Joshua whispered. He smiled softly at her before looking at the rest of us. "She's right, though For now, we should quietly work on getting our people in, getting information, and coordinating with the resistance already building here." Joshua looked at Colm. "You got more lockpicks? The other embassies checked out."

"Yep, I've over a hundred now," Colm informed us with a grin. "Founds lots with our enemies, you see, so I've been keeping a ready stock." His grin faded for a grimace. "Still, we're also going to need to clean the places."

"Oh, gods, yes, we do. The Frelia one is horrific, especially the stalls."

"Ugh… they better appreciate us doing this!"

We all laughed, and I glanced around the room, checking the area. I frowned when I noticed a group of Grado soldiers staring right at us, and whispering. "Guys," I whispered, carefully tapping the table to get their attention. "There are some Grado soldiers starting to look at us weirdly. We're being suspicious."

"Yes, we are very serious in the middle of a bunch of fun-loving customers," Tethys murmured. She smirked, though, unbothered. "Well, we'll just make it look like we've been arguing."

"Arguing about what?"

"This." And Tethys leapt onto the table and began dancing. Natasha and Colm yelped and desperately tried to save the mugs and food, while Joshua laughed loudly, tossing his head back and clapping. The rest of the patrons cheered and some others jumped onto the tables too, singing and dancing.

In the middle of turn and a jump, Tethys dragged me up with her as her partner and I squeaked, trying to figure out how to get down without falling. But, of course, I was stuck, so I just tried to keep up with everyone, joining in when someone began singing. It was a marvelous distraction, certainly. I just wished Tethys had warned me first!

* * *

The next few days were filled with gathering information, keeping things calm, planning, and cleaning. As the rest of our group slowly trickled in, we split up among the embassies to lessen the chances of being found. I ended up moving into the Grado one to stay near Brynhildr, along with Cormag, Genarog, Amelia, Joshua, and Natasha. The Renasi one ended up housing the most people, simply because most of our army was from Renais and they jumped on the chance of technically 'staying in Renais'. The Frelians stayed in Frelia's embassy, mostly for Achaeus and Titania. L'arachel and Dozla stayed in Rausten's, along with the Rausten knights as some slipped in ahead of the 'main' group. Tethys, Saleh, Gerik, Marisa, and Ewan stayed in the Guild, so that the locals could reach our group more easily, just in case.

The Grado soldiers, meanwhile, just remained patrolling, not doing anything. Jehanna Hall was perfectly silent, with no one leaving or entering. Spies stated that Carlyle and Queen Ismaire were alive, but no one was quite certain why or what our enemies were waiting for. The best guess was that they were hunting through the castle for Jehanna's Sacred Stone. Unlike every other country, save Renais as we recently discovered, Jehanna didn't keep their Sacred Stone in a temple, and never let the location be known to the public. It was unlikely that Queen Ismaire would tell them. It made sense. What didn't make sense was the total lack of Caellach and Prince Lyon, despite the Grado soldiers confirming, through careful eavesdropping, that the two were in charge. Literally, there was no sign of either. Joshua was certain there was a trap. Considering our previous track record, most of us agreed. The problem was… what was it?

"Honestly, at this point, everyone is waiting for us and they're not happy," I explained to Ephraim. Somehow, I ended up being the one who reported things from the local resistance to our leaders. But Innes was getting information from spies, and Eirika was out getting information with Tana, so it was just Ephraim for now. I half-thought Eirika and Tana planned this, but I had no way to confirm it. "The main worry is that they'll get impatient. The older ones are keeping things calm, but the less word on Queen Ismaire, the worse it's getting. I'd give it a day or two before things start boiling over."

"I see," Ephraim whispered, leaning against the wall. We were in one of the side rooms of the Renasi embassy, with a window that looked out over the city. Black decorations fluttered in the wind, banners and ribbons and the like, and it added a layer of gloom to the city. "Is black a mourning color in Jehanna like Renais?"

"It's for King Raphael. The anniversary is soon, and it's not helping with everyone's patience. They're nervous they'll lose Queen Ismaire, especially before her son is found." Not that I could blame them. I was worried that Joshua wouldn't get to see his mother. I was worried he'd only see her corpse. "Of course, our group is desperate for more information in case it's a trap. Which, let's be fair, there probably is one."

"True." Ephraim closed his eyes briefly before focusing on me. "What do you think? About all of this?"

"Me?" I honestly was a bundle of nerves. "Well, truth be told, I almost want to write off the Sacred Stone. For all we know, they're using it, and Queen Ismaire, as a lure to get us all inside and then boom!" I threw my hands up to emphasize my point. "Rocks fall, everyone dies, they shift through the rubble for your bracelets. We already know the Sacred Stones are fragile enough that a mere human can break it, so collapsing the place would definitely do it."

"So by that logic, we should just remain outside and try to hunt down the Sacred Stone."

"But if we do that, we'll lose the locals' support. _They_ want to save Queen Ismaire. They don't care about the Sacred Stone. To them, it's just a worthless legend, a story about a dark time."

"And we do need their cooperation. We need to match the respect and expectations they've given us." Ephraim sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Knowing them, it's probably two or ten traps. But we also can't afford to wait much longer. A day or two at most, like you said." He shook his head and frowned at me. After a moment, he reached up and gently touched my cheek. "You're paler than normal. Have you not been sleeping?"

"Oh, no, I have. I curl up with Brynhildr." I smiled, hoping to hide my sudden blush. "She gets very mad if I don't sleep."

"And how restful has the sleep been?" He waited, but I simply glanced to the side. I had no answer to that. "Not well, then."

"Have any of us been sleeping well? I know Moulder and Natasha had ordered people to rest." Joshua and Gerik, for instance, both had gotten healer's orders to 'not do a damn thing'. They'd been running around the entire city, calming the local resistance as much as possible, and it had definitely started to wear on them.

"You're evading the question." He smirked and I glowered. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't press. But, to be blunt, you do look like hell."

"Is that something to say to a lady?"

"You seem to appreciate honesty." His smirk grew and I rolled my eyes. "More seriously, though. Maybe you should take the rest of the day off?"

"Considering everything, we're likely heading in… what? Tonight? Tomorrow?" I shook my head, smiling bitterly. "There's no time for a break. For any of us."

"No, I suppose not." He hesitated a bit, and then moved his hand to cup my cheek. "But…"

"Darlings, look who I found~!" L'arachel skipped in then, beaming. Behind her trailed a man wearing the most interesting expression. I swore it was a mix of annoyance, exasperation, and utterly resigned. "This is Rennac!" she announced dramatically, gesturing to the man. As always, I wondered where she got her energy. "He's in my employ, though the silly managed to get himself lost back in the port. He's a delightful scout, and very sneaky."

"So, we have another spy?" Ephraim asked, hand returning to his side. He looked over at Rennac, and Rennac nodded. "Interesting. And those are lockpicks on his belt, so that gives us two people who can open doors, yes?"

"Yep!" She giggled, but then frowned at me. "Oh, darling, you look like you need a nap." She jumped to my side, poking my cheek. "Forgive me, but you look like you need one desperately."

"I was just trying to get her to take a break."

"I must add my own insistence to it as well. In fact, let's make it healer's orders!" She grinned triumphantly, and I sighed, bringing my hands up in surrender. "Excellent!"

"Oh, you listen to her and not me?" Ephraim pretended to sulk. "I'm heartbroken!"

"She's prettier," I instantly retorted. It made Ephraim laugh and L'arachel squeak. "Besides, I know better than to argue against a healer's orders. I will lose." A thought occurred to me and I just had to tease. "After all, it's not wise to pick fights I can't win, right?"

"Oh, gods damn it!" Ephraim groaned. L'arachel looked between us, very confused. Rennac looked like he wanted to escape. "Seriously?"

"I had to. It was too good of an opening." I giggled, and skipped to the door, subtly nudging Rennac back inside. "I'll go rest, though. You two have fun with the new one here."

I left the Renaisi embassy and snuck my way over to the Grado one. When I got there, though, I noticed that Joshua wasn't around. At first, I thought he was just out getting information, but I remembered that he was supposed to be resting, and so, I decided to hunt for him to make sure of it. My search led me outside, asking locals if they'd seen him, and eventually out of the city entirely, towards a hill with a fantastic view of the Vrep. The silver waters snaked out to the horizon, but I could see where the water was down, red bedrock casting shadows over the water and the greenery along the edges was browning and drying. But it didn't hold my attention for long. After all, there, tucked against the roots of one of the browning trees, was Joshua.

"There you are," I called. He glanced at me, and waved me over, but he didn't move. "Well, I should be glad you're resting like Natasha ordered." He smiled, but didn't say anything, so I sat down next to him. "I've been ordered to rest too. We might head in today or tomorrow. Though, you probably knew that." Still no reply, so I sat in silence, just looking out over the horizon.

Finally, though, he did start speaking. "When I was little…" he began softly. The dry wind tugged at his hair and clothes, but he pulled his hat a little more over his eyes to keep the wind from taking it away. "Since I was the crown prince, I had to start learning swords when I was very little. My childhood games were just… fun ways to train for that. And when I had some sort of good balance, I was learning swords. Just play at first, but as I got older, it became real."

"How old were you?"

"Five, I think? But by the time I was seven, it was definitely real training. By the time I was nine, I was practicing with steel. But that's not… well, regardless…" He closed his eyes, smiling slightly. "My parents trained me when they could, but most of the time, it was Carlyle who taught me. And after every practice session, we'd take a walk to cool down and we'd rest on this hill. He'd ask me how I was doing, help me with my lessons, explain why I needed to learn things…"

"You were close to him, weren't you?"

"He was my father's best friend, as close as brothers. He was treated like part of the family, to the point that when I was very little, I'd call him 'Uncle Carlyle'. And when my parents were busy, and I was too young for lessons, I'd follow him around like a shadow. He humored me. He helped raise me. Which is why none of this makes sense. None of it."

"Joshua…"

"I… I want to believe in him. He's my father's best friend, my mother's most trusted advisor. He's my uncle and my teacher. Growing up, he was one of my role models, right up there with my parents." He opened his eyes again and looked up at the slowly darkening sky. The sun was setting. "But, at the same time, I'm not sure if someone offered to bring back Father, he wouldn't take it. And hell if I know if Carlyle is obsessed enough with Mother to accept 'her' in exchange for being a traitor. I don't think so, but gods, I don't know. I didn't see much of their interactions after Father died. Most of my memories of him also have my father being alive, so I don't have a clue if he loves her or not."

"You no longer…"

"It's been ten long years. I shouldn't pretend I fully know my mother or Carlyle anymore. I only know the selves they showed around me, a child, a decade ago." He stood up slowly, and looked back at the city. At Jehanna Hall. "So, I want to head in ahead of the others. To confront Carlyle personally."

"That's a stupid thing to do, you know."

"It's a _very_ stupid thing to do. But... but I need to. For myself and for the crown." He offered me his hand and I let him pull me up. "He's my uncle, so I need to confront him. He's a potential traitor, so I need to confront him. And if he is guilty of being a traitor, then…" His voice caught, but he coughed to clear it. There were no tears. Not yet, at least. "He is the leader of the Knights of the Oasis. By law, he would be executed by the ruling king. And he's my uncle. If he's strayed so far off the path, then I owe it to him to stop him."

"You…" I sighed, already knowing I couldn't stop him. This was far too important. "Well, I'm coming with you if you go."

"Petal…"

"You cannot go in alone. If you try, I will have Brynhildr sit on you." I scowled up at him, and he smiled slightly, acknowledging the threat. "So, here's what we'll do. You tell Natasha. I'll inform Eirika. And we'll see if either can talk you out of this. I know I can't. Natasha might."

"Maybe." His smile grew, though there was something sad about it. "Don't tell Eirika about my being the prince yet, please?"

"Of course." I sighed heavily. "Gods, the things I do for family. Let's go be stupid."

We both returned to the Grado embassy, so that I could arm up. He remained there to talk to Natasha, and I went looking for Eirika. Luckily, or unluckily, she was in the first place I checked, the Renasi embassy, having just changed out of the Jehannan clothes she'd borrowed from the locals, and thus, was alone. That made it easy to tap her on the shoulder and pull her to a side room to talk. However, I had to say, sometimes Eirika's powers of observation was surprisingly accurate.

"What's going on with Joshua?" she asked, the first thing out of her mouth. She smiled when I squeaked in surprise. "He hides it, but he's been acting oddly all day. Most of our group, our original group that went to Renvall, have noticed."

"Well, that makes it easier," I replied, laughing. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. "He wants to go in ahead. Originally alone, but I think I've convinced him to let me go with. But just us. Ahead of everyone."

"Excuse me?" Her tone and expression flattened. "That's the most…" She paused and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "But it's also Joshua. He's normally the levelheaded one of us. So, for him to think about this… it's important. It's important to him."

"Very."

"I see." She opened her eyes, frowning. "Is there someone trapped in there? Someone he wants to keep safe?"

"Yeah, pretty much, actually."

"I wonder who. Maybe another friend? He's got friends everywhere, and it wouldn't surprise me if some others were still inside." She shrugged, shaking her head. I was just glad she didn't push the topic more. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not the person to call judgment on someone doing ill-advised things for loved ones. But you'll be with him?"

"I will."

"Okay." She reached over and took my hands. "So, you'll be careful, yes?"

"Of course."

"Okay." She winced and squeezed my hands. "I don't like it, but if you're bringing it to me, I'm guessing that Joshua is not going to be dissuaded. He's going no matter what."

"Unless Natasha talked him out of it. Which I doubt."

"Right." She looked me over, noticing that I was already armed and armored, and nodded. "I will see you off, then."

"Thanks for letting us be stupid."

"I'll forgive you both so long as you come back safe." She smiled and I saw the worry in her face. She wanted to stop us. She wanted to desperately. But she knew the only way to do that would be to lock Joshua up. And, let's be honest, he'd probably escape in about thirty seconds, and then he'd be out on his own. "Out we go, then. Everyone else is off doing their own thing, so if you're going to leave, now is the time."

"Thanks." We headed outside then, both in total silence. Natasha and Joshua were waiting just across the street, with Joshua armed up, just like me. Like Eirika, Natasha didn't look too happy about this, but I couldn't blame her. Honestly, Joshua didn't look 'happy' about it either. He just truly felt this was what he needed to do.

"I will be very vexed if you don't come back," Natasha whispered to us both. She glanced at Eirika and Eirika leaned against her reassuringly. "Okay? You'll come back, safe and sound."

"We will," Joshua promised. He managed a small smile. "I know some secret ways in, thanks to my connections. And if it's too dangerous, we'll find a window and shout for Brynhildr."

"And Brynhildr will come," I reassured. I hugged both Natasha and Eirika, my silent apology. "It'll be fine."

"And you don't have to cover, once we're away. I have no issues listening to bunches of lectures for this." He looked to me and I nodded. "See you soon."

We left without another word, mostly because there was no point in delaying this anymore. Natasha and Eirika watched us leave, not leaving even as we disappeared from sight. Natasha had her hands clasped in prayer and I thought I caught Eirika mouthing/whispering something, just before I lost sight of them.

"We owe them both," I told Joshua. He simply nodded, fully aware of how big of a favor this way. "Gods, everyone is going to kill us."

"I'll take full blame, petal," Joshua murmured. His eyes were on Jehanna Hall and did not waver. "Because, let's be honest. If Natasha can't talk me out of this, no one would."

"True."

"And you're only here to make sure I don't get in over my head."

"Also true."

"Was there anyone else you wanted to inform?"

"…No, not really." I shrugged. "I mean; part of me feels like I should've told Ephraim and Innes too, but Eirika will handle that."

"Okay." He snaked an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks for this, petal."

"It's nothing, brother." I leaned into him. "Let's figure out what the hell happened, yeah?"

* * *

Joshua led me to a secret entrance most people didn't know about, as it was only taught to the royal family for purposes of escaping a siege. It was how he'd managed to run away ten years ago, and from the amount of dust and rust on and around the door, it was obvious that he'd been the last one to use it. It ended up being the perfect entrance for us, because it was so hidden both outside and inside. It gave us the perfect vantage point to ambush a few patrols and, from there, we made our way to the throne room. Joshua thought it would be the best place to start looking for Carlyle, or someone to help us find him.

"Why are we going around in circles?" I asked at one point, after we hit the staircase to the second floor. We darted from alcove to alcove, ducking into random rooms, but sometimes, we just had to kill some patrolling soldiers in order to keep our presence unknown, normally when we tried to hide in a room and it ended up locked. We were splattered with blood, but thankfully we weren't too injured yet. Bruises at worst. So far. "Seriously, I almost feel dizzy from it."

"Jehanna Hall used to be a fortress, petal," Joshua explained. We tucked ourselves into another alcove to catch our breaths. "The 'throne room' was once a room to keep civilians safe."

"So it would be useful for a siege." I grimaced as my footing slipped from blood. I was dripping with blood. It sucked. I didn't like ambushing from close range. I normally let Brynhildr take care of this sort of thing nowadays. "Oh, they are not letting us keep that."

"No, they're not. But that's for later." He looked down the hall, and grimaced. "Oh, damn, we have a large group heading our way, and I'm not confident in ambushing them."

"We need a better hiding place."

"Yep." He nodded, eyes narrowed. "There's a room nearby. I think we can make it before they notice."

"And if it's locked?"

"We run like mad." He checked the hall again. "Now."

We darted for the room and, thankfully, it wasn't locked. We ducked inside and closed the door as quietly yet quickly as we could, and braced against it, just in case the soldiers had seen us and burst in. However, the sounds of footsteps simply passed us by and so we relaxed, breathing sighs of relief, and leaned against the walls. Then Joshua gasped and I thought we were in trouble. But he just pushed off the wall and turned slowly, looking around the room. I did the same, and noticed that it was a room subtle in its richness. Fancy rugs to soften the floor, a large bed piled high with blankets to ward off the cold, a vanity complete with a mirror with bits of jewelry and perfumes, curtains to block out the sunlight, the landscape paintings depicting the beautiful white dunes of Jehanna... it was all very pretty. But on the nightstand by the bed, there was a single portrait of three people, all with red hair and red eyes, and it held my complete attention. A man and a woman with their son between them, all beaming with bright smiles. The woman had a quiet dignity to her, a calm confidence even in her happiness, while the man just seemed to radiate warmth, like the sun. The boy in between them clung to their arms, standing on his tiptoes like he was ready to just bounce away. But the happy family wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. It was how much the man looked like Joshua.

"It's my parents' room," Joshua whispered finally. He smiled slightly, incredulous. "Of all the rooms to pick, I picked theirs. I didn't even realize we were that close." He looked around again, looking ready to laugh. "Gods, it looks the same. Did she not even change the pillows?"

"You think we're banking a lot on our uncanny luck?" I asked dryly. I leaned more against the wall, sighing. "We'll have to pay for this. That's how it works."

"Well, we got allies, but have people making us move and potentially trigger a trap that costs us dearly?"

"I meant with here."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to remind the gods." He shrugged. "That all said, this will be a good time to clean up and look less suspicious. I think… no, I know Mother wouldn't mind you borrowing some of her clothes." Joshua walked over to the closest and opened it up. And promptly froze at something I couldn't see. "…Mother and I are such idiots…" He began laughing, but it sounded like he was only laughing to keep from crying. "Gods damn it, Mother… you still have..."

"Joshua?"

"Well, looks like I get a change of clothes too." He glanced over his shoulder to smile at me, but his eyes shone with unshed tears. It took a moment to realize just what he meant. His dad's stuff was still in the room, despite being dead for ten years. Like a worse version of me keeping Monica's clothes six months after she had died. "Here, let's get your change first."

After thumbing quickly through, he passed me a dress with a short skirt, similar to what Marisa wore, though the skirt part was a bit longer and it was colored green. He also tossed me a towel that had apparently also ben there to wipe down my armor and lance, and a second for myself. He then pulled out a black overcoat, black shirt, and matching pants, as well two more towels for himself. We both changed quickly, and then I worked on getting the blood and sweat off. With the rest came a surge of pain from the bruises and aching muscles, and I was tempted to just curl up on the ground and fall asleep. But we couldn't. Not now, at least.

Once we were both mostly cleaned up, Joshua began searching the vanity for some reason and smiled when he found a hair ornament, one with a golden flower. "I gave this to her thirteen years ago," he whispered, inspecting it. "It's of a golden suncup. Simple thing, really, but I was proud of buying it all on my own. Looks like it's been used a lot. The hair tie part has been replaced." He handed it to me and returned to rummaging through. "Your braid is falling out."

"Yeah, my hairtie is fraying with all the wear and tear I put on it nowadays," I replied. I hesitated in taking it, but decided to go for it. I'd… I'd apologize to her later. "You sure she won't mind? I've never met her."

"You're the daughter of her best friend, remember? It'll be… Oh, really, Mother?" He pulled out a hair clasp, one made of golds and some sort of dark stone. "Really? Didn't even put it in storage."

"Was that your father's?"

"He preferred to tie his hair back for formal events. Or fights." He hesitated a moment before taking off his hat, and pulling his hair back in a ponytail, tying it with the hair clasp. "Most of the time, he just wore it down."

"I see." I tied my hair back in a ponytail too, not wanting to deal with trying to braid my hair, and glanced down to my lance and gauntlets. I stared at them, debating something. I thought about the fights we'd probably have soon. We couldn't count on a rescue. It was honestly just Joshua and me.

So, taking all that into account, I opened up the right gauntlet and I began applying four of the five vials of poison onto my lance.

"What is that?" Joshua asked me. He didn't stop me, only moving a towel underneath to catch the excess. "If it's like your dagger, I'm going to warn you that poisons are less effective as they age."

"Won't matter with Dad's poisons," I replied. I hoped I was doing this correctly, but gods, I had no idea. "It's a stronger version of what Orson used on his daggers. Half a drop can kill at full potency, if I read his notebooks correctly." I shrugged and capped off the now empty vials. "Besides, I'm just evening up the odds. I'm not necessarily killing them with poison. I want them weakened enough so that I don't die. They can just fall unconscious. I won't mind." I set the vials on the nightstand and looked at him. "Was there poison on the dagger? You cleaned it for me."

"The one in your gauntlet? Yeah, there was. Fairly potent too." He paused and smiled as he got my point. "Oh, I get it. Okay. So long as you don't count on them keeling over, this should work."

"Of course not. But I do hope with four different ones, they'll at least stumble away from me. And, you know, not kill us. I really don't want Natasha mad at us."

"Right, right." Joshua cracked open the door, peering outside, and nodded. "Okay. We're not far from the throne room."

"Okay." I finished putting poison on my lance and winced at the eerie sheen it gave the blade. I wasn't comfortable with this, but I was less comfortable with dying. "Are you ready?"

"…No." He smiled and shrugged, perfectly honest. "But I never will be, so I might as well jump."

There was no real replying to that, so I just gave him a hug before we crept outside. We double checked that everything was clear, and then we ran down the hall, ducking behind alcoves and statues as we continued on our way. Before long, just as Joshua said, we made it to the throne room. The doors, heavy ones that were made of some dark metal, were shut when we arrived, but Joshua pushed them open without hesitation. The doors opened slowly, a quiet thunder echoing through the halls, and I nearly squeaked at how how loud it was. Joshua didn't, though. He just strode inside, looking straight ahead. I followed quickly, falling in step, and glanced around before my eyes settled on the throne, and the exhausted man that rose from it with a strange sword in hand.

"…Raphael?" the man called softly, frowning. His eyes darted over to me. "And Tabitha too? Have you two come to punish me, all the way from death?"

"Pretty sure that if I was my mom, she'd just shoot you with an arrow and be done," I retorted dryly, automatically. I glanced at Joshua apologetically, but he shook his head, smiling to let me know it was okay. "My name is Emma. I'm her youngest. You must be Carlyle."

"I... am, yes." Carlyle's eyes returned to Joshua and his frown deepened. But then clarity came to his eyes and he began laughing. "Well, if you're no ghost, then you can only be Joshua. You actually returned. You actually… actually came back."

"I did," Joshua replied. He looked at a loss for words, before his attention fell to the sword Carlyle held. There was something odd about it, despite it looking reasonably simple with a silver blade and emerald hilt. Whatever it was, though, made Joshua wilt, sagging like a puppet shorn of strings. "That's Mother's Wind Sword. She wouldn't just let someone use it. It would be in her own hand, if anyone was going to use it. Which means you stole it from her, and that only means..." He sighed and smiled brokenly. "Ha… you of all people… betrayed Mother. I wanted to believe in you so badly, but it's for naught it seems."

"You don't get to leave for so long and come back to everything being perfect."

"I didn't expect perfect!" Joshua's voice was sharp, as sharp as a dagger, and Carlyle winced. "I just expected to see Mother and get yelled at for being an idiot! I expected to see you and get scolded for being irresponsible! I expected to have long conversations with you both, and tell you all that I saw! To discuss how I'd rule, with your help!" Joshua glared briefly before he tucked it all behind a stoic mask. "Not this. Not you betraying everything."

"A pretty speech, but it's not enough." Carlyle shrugged, looking so done with everything. "It's too late."

"Too late to save my mother? Maybe, and if it is, it's half your fault. But too late to save Jehanna? Never. It hasn't fallen yet, and I will not let it." Joshua drew his sword and regarded Carlyle with that too calm look. The calm of the wind just before it whipped into a storm. It honestly unnerved me. "That's not your blade, Carlyle. That's not your throne. I will remove both from you, along with your head."

"Bold words." Carlyle stepped down from the throne and began circling the room. Joshua matched his movements, circling the other way. I remained exactly where I was, a little too frozen. "Can you back them up?"

"It's been ten years. I clearly don't know you any longer, so I think it's safe to say that you no longer know me." Joshua stopped when he was opposite Carlyle. Carlyle stopped as well, expression blank. I couldn't read him at all. "Sir Carlyle, leader of the Knights of the Oasis, right hand to King Raphael the Beloved and Queen Ismaire of the White Dunes, you are guilty of high treason, betrayal of your ruling queen. The punishment for this crime is death, and I will deliver it."

There was a brief moment of silence. A brief moment of stillness. Then they both lunged forward at the same time and their blades met with a shower of sparks. Wind whipped out from Carlyle's to cut into Joshua's arms and face, but Joshua didn't flinch. He just retreated and went at him again, feinting with his sword before kicking Carlyle in the side. Carlyle went with the movement and slashed the air, sending out a blade of wind magic. Joshua dodged and struck viciously at Carlyle's face.

I stood in the doorway and watched, uncertain as to what to do. At least, I did until I heard sounds down the hallway. Worried, I stepped out of the room and saw a bunch of Grado soldiers approaching at full speed, likely drawn by the sound of the door. Thinking quickly, I pulled the doors shut and ran down the hall, ducking down one hallway at random. Fairly quickly, I ended up in a dead end, a beautiful courtyard with vines twisting up the walls and a worn statue in the back. Nervous, I closed my eyes, and wished I had Natasha's charm on me. But I thought of my friends, and I thought of the promises I made Eirika and Natasha, and turned, settling into a stance and prepared for the fight. It had been a long while since I'd actually fought while on foot, but I'd kept up practice on Seth's insistence. And before two seconds passed, I knew I'd be thanking him profusely as soon as I got out of this.

They fell on me with triumphant yells and slashed at me viciously, but I was lucky. First of all, there weren't that many. Twenty, twenty-five at absolute most, and honestly, it might've been more like ten or fifteen. Secondly, the hall was narrow, meaning only one or two could come at me at once, and I was being 'unfair' in that I was using poison, which made stumble and fall, coughing and wheezing. Then again, they were all trying to overwhelm me with numbers, so I considered it an even match. Maybe. As it was, though, bodies fell in front of me, people gasping and writhing from the poison, and others tripped over the fallen. They smashed each other against the walls, trying to reach me. I parried and dodged as needed, attacking where I could, and didn't let up for an instance.

And eventually, the last one fell. Or retreated. I didn't know and honestly, didn't care. I was aching and there was some burning from the slashes I'd picked up and bruises. I wanted to just collapse, too drained by the past few days, but I couldn't. I absolutely couldn't. So, I made myself walk forward and climbed over the bodies that had piled up. It was very, very wrong and gross stepping on corpses, or unconscious bodies, but there were too many packed together for me to completely avoid it. I screamed when one recovered enough to snatch my ankle, but I automatically stabbed whoever it was in the face and escaped as quickly as I could, no longer caring about picking my steps and minimizing any damages. All bets were off when someone you thought was dead or unconscious grabbed you.

When I made it out, I peered down the hall, checking for anyone else. Seeing no one, I returned to the throne room and pushed open the doors, that thunderous echo announcing my presence. But the two inside didn't notice. They kept on fighting, oblivious to anything but each other. Likely because they knew that if they let their attention falter, the other would slaughter them.

There was blood everywhere. Blood streaming down their bodies. Blood smearing across the floor. Blood flying through the air. But neither seemed to care. They just kept on dueling, and I stood back, simply bearing witness. Someone had to. But it was hard. As Joshua bled, my instincts screamed to jump in. Each time he missed, my fingers twitch on my weapon. Each time he hit, my feet almost moved forward. But I remained still, watching. Yes, I wanted to protect him. He was my brother, and I had horribly failed Orson. He was part of my 'world' and I was scared of losing more pieces. But I also knew that this was something he had to do, and I couldn't interfere. Besides, I somehow doubted I'd actually be able to help. This was a duel between two swordmasters, and it moved almost too fast to see.

Four blinks. One, two, three, four. That's how long it took to end it. One blink, Carlyle had caught Joshua in the side, wind slicing him all the way up to his shoulder. Two blinks, Joshua twisted and cut off Carlyle's arm, the blade clattering to the ground as the arm flew through the air. Three blinks, Carlyle stumbled back, mouth open to scream in pain. Four blinks, Joshua ran him through and ripped out the blade, silencing him forever.

Carlyle's body hit the ground with a wet splat, blood spewing everywhere. Joshua stood over it, panting heavily, bleeding badly. Silence reigned, and a strange stillness settled over the room. When his breathing calmed, though, he shifted and tried to bend down, probably to pick up the Wind Sword, but then he started to collapse. I surged forward then, automatically, and caught him, pulling him into me to take all his weight. His blood soaked my dress, but I didn't care. He was still alive, so I didn't care.

"Hey, I've got you," I whispered, rubbing his back. I had to be careful to make sure I didn't accidentally cut him with my lance. "Joshua? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can," Joshua rasped. He coughed, struggling to breath. "Oh, hell, this was a stupid idea."

"It was. I told you so. But you did it."

"I did." He laughed breathlessly. "You're bleeding."

"So are you." I kissed his head, ignoring the blood and sweat. "Natasha is going to be so mad. We should try to get to them before we bleed out."

"The sword… I don't want it in the same room as him. It's Mother's."

"Okay. I'll get it."

"Thank you."

It took a moment to get the blade, while also making sure neither of us collapsed or slipped in the blood. Or stab ourselves with my poisoned lance. In retrospect, poisoning something that didn't have an easy sheathe was probably a _really_ stupid idea. But we managed, mostly, and limped through the halls, following the sounds of clanging and screaming. Eventually, we stumbled into a large room, probably some sort of receiving hall or something, and, as predicted, there was a bunch of fighting. Our people, Grado soldiers… and, of course, we were behind the Grado soldiers. Because we were the idiots who snuck in ahead. Holy hell, we were stupid.

"I wonder if this is a good time to try the sword," Joshua murmured. He took the Wind Sword from me and held it out in front of him. "Of course, I don't have a damn clue how it works, but hey, maybe!"

"Maybe you wish for it?" I suggested sarcastically. Pain crawled up me, each breath sparking another bit of throbbing, and holding up most of his weight was not helping matters. "Like 'make a tornado here'?"

"Sure, why not?" He dramatically pointed the sword at a group of Grado soldiers, and I had to resist rolling my eyes. "Tornado, please!"

It was supposed to be a joke. It really was. But the sword hummed, writing along the blade glowed, and suddenly, there really was a tornado in the middle of the soldiers. It whirled into life, howling in fury, and it tore through them like wet paper. It ripped off limbs, or tore them off their feet and threw the bodies into the walls. Weapons and armor shot through the air, impaling or bludgeoning those who could not get out of the way in time. It was absolutely madness, and we were horrible people inflicting it on them, even accidentally.

"I wasn't serious," I whispered. People were screaming now, wondering what the hell just happened. Because there was no logical sequence that resulted in 'tornado showing up in the middle of a room'. "That wasn't supposed to be serious."

"Yeah, I know," Joshua replied. He looked as stunned as I felt. "I can see why this is her favored sword."

"How was that even made?"

"Apparently by etching some of the words of Excalibur onto it? Which, in retrospect, does make things make more sense." He shrugged and made himself straightened. "Well, hello, everyone!" He grinned and waved when everyone in the room slowly turned to look at him in pure shock. I had to resist the urge to facepalm, and instead just tried to make me look like I wasn't about to collapse. "I'm afraid Carlyle is kind of dead, I killed him in a duel you see, and we want to try and find the queen, so if lot can go ahead and surrender before I decide that it's totally a good idea to try out this Wind Sword out a second time, that would be fantastic!"

Everyone stared for a while longer before dropping their weapons, and falling to their knees. Because what else were you going to do when a madman, covered in blood, demanded your surrender because he just killed one of the most famous swordsmen in all of Jehanna and he was tired, so give up or he'd create another whirlwind to rip you apart? Gods damn it, Joshua.

* * *

"I could have sworn I told you two to come back safe and sound," Natasha grumbled as she tied off some bandages on Joshua's torso and then helped him get his shirt back on. It, like my dress, was mostly ruined thanks to the cuts and blood. Surprisingly, though, both of our hair ornaments survived, perfectly intact. "I distinctly remember that."

"I am perfectly safe, and I am as sound of mind as I ever will be," Joshua defended with a smile. He waited for her to scowl up at him and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "To be fair, I also went in thinking I'd just have to deal with a silver sword or blade, not this lovely Wind Sword."

"Is that why you have so many odd injuries?"

"Well, some. He was also skilled."

"Of course he was. Why did I let you do this?"

"Because he's stubborn," I answered. I was curled up in Joshua's lap, half-asleep after my own treatment. "And we didn't want to waste the breath or time." Deciding we needed a slight change in subject, I poked the Wind Sword resting by us, with his killing edge and my lance. "So, sword. Your mother's, right?"

"Yes, it was," Joshua confirmed. He glanced around, checking to make sure no one was near. But they weren't. We two were getting treated by Natasha. Moulder and L'arachel were treating the other wounded. All the rest were hunting through the castle for Queen Ismaire. "In Jehanna, after a proposal, a couple will exchange gifts. This was my father's gift to Mother. 'A blade of winds for the daughter of winds', he joked, or so I was always told."

"I see." I smiled slightly, but then I just felt sad. I wasn't even sure why. "In the picture by your mother's bed, he just looked… bright."

"He was like the sun. The fierce desert sun to his enemies, but the warming twilight sun to his friends. Always warm, always bright. No one could be mad at him for long. No one could stay sad around him for long." Joshua looked down, eyes dark. "Then he died. I wonder if that's what made Carlyle snap and jump on whatever offer they gave him. He was Father's childhood friend, friends since before they could even remember."

"Did he tell you? Carlyle, I mean. Why he betrayed."

"He tried. I refused to listen. No explanation would be enough to justify betraying my parents." He laughed bitterly. "Though, maybe I should've listened, just to know what they tempted him with. Might've given us better information on our enemy."

"Perhaps," Natasha whispered. She slipped her arms around Joshua and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "But maybe not. Not every explanation is needed." He didn't respond. He simply reached up and clung to her arm, closing his eyes. It was a quiet, cute moment and part of me just wanted to enjoy it. Part of me wanted to also ruin the moment and tease the living hell out of both of them. "The important thing is to not walk his path. Which you never will. So relax."

I debated a little longer, and then decided to just subtly sit up and let them have their moment. However, sitting up let me look down the hallway and I saw Seth… not quite running, but also not casually walking towards us. Something in-between. "Seth?" I called, frowning. Dread flooded me when I saw his stony expression. Not his normal stoic. Stony. "I get the feeling that this isn't good news."

"It's not," he confirmed as soon as he was close. He looked at Natasha, expression unchanging. "We found Queen Ismaire and she's badly wounded. Moulder specifically requested your help." Natasha's expression went carefully stoic, a serene calm. Joshua's expression blanked, like all the wind got knocked out of him. "I'm sorry. But if they're going to live, you're needed elsewhere."

"I'll go get Eirika to save some time. Seth, can you help Joshua limp?" I pushed myself up and threw my arms out for balance as my head spun. "Whoa… okay, okay, good, good." Thankfully, the dizziness passed quickly. "Throne room? I think she was searching the throne room?"

"She was." Seth reached over to help me steady myself. I let him, to let Joshua have time to pretend to recover. Natasha had already left, disappearing down the hall like a ghost. "You sure you can make it?"

"Completely!" I emulated L'arachel and posed dramatically. And instantly regretted it when the pain hit. "Ow… okay, not completely. But enough!"

"…Did you hit your head?"

"No?" I kicked up my lance into my hand, and helped Joshua get his two swords. "I'm good. I'm fine. I'm off!"

I limped down the hall before Seth could stop me, glancing back only to make sure Seth really was helping Joshua. He was, of course, so I focused forward, using the wall as a crutch to make sure I didn't fall. I stumbled a few times, but managed well enough. However, strangely, as I got closer to the throne room, I heard voices. Eirika's and someone I didn't recognize. I wondered if we got yet another recruit. It wouldn't surprise me, considering out luck.

"I'm sorry, but I can't… say much more," the stranger's voice murmured. It was soft, quiet. "It's not fair to you, but…"

"It's fine; it's fine!" Eirika reassured with a laugh. "You have your reasons, yes?" There was a pause. I guessed the stranger nodded. I was almost there, but the closer I got, a strangely unsettled feeling began seeping into me, lingering and clawing, weighing me down. "I knew it! Ah, I'm so relieved. You're still the same. I was afraid you'd changed as much as your poor father. Oh, we should find Ephraim!"

"I'm afraid I don't have that time. I'm sorry. Please give him my regards?"

"I suppose. If I must."

"Eirika, who the hell are you talking to?" I asked, walking into the throne room at last. I blinked slowly at the young man wearing a mantle and a circlet standing near Eirika. Thankfully, he looked as startled as I did. "Um… hi?"

"Hello?" the young man replied, still looking startled, though he quickly smiled. Gentle. That was the first word I assigned to him. Gentle eyes, gentle smile, gentle demeanor, gentle voice. It was almost terrifying, how _gentle_ he was. Like he wasn't even quite real, but a ghost pretending. "My pardon, I…"

"Lyon, it's fine!" Eirika giggled. She bounced on her toes, happier than I'd seen her for a long while. "This is Emma. She's my best friend, and the reason why Seth and I survived Renais's fall."

"Really? Then I'm in her debt." Lyon's smile softened even further, somehow. "Well met, Dame Emma-"

"Just Emma," I corrected instantly. This was weird. This was beyond weird. "I've no title, Prince Lyon."

"In that case, please, call me 'Lyon'," Lyon insisted. He grew thoughtful, studying me. "Emma, though… I believe General Glen mentioned you. You have one of our wyverns."

"Brynhildr attached herself to me, and I'm not letting her go." I hesitated before walking over to Eirika's side. That unsettled feeling was bone deep at this point, but I couldn't tell why. Nothing looked off, yet I knew something was. "We didn't kill General Glen, by the way. Just saying."

"Of course not. While this is war, I know Ephraim and Eirika would never order someone to…" Lyon shuddered, shaking hands digging into his arms as he hugged himself. "There was barely anything recognizable about his body. I felt so sorry for Cormag. It took him a good hour to identify the body because it was so mangled."

"That's… horrible…" Eirika whispered. She covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, and I had to fight back a wince. It was a damn miracle Cormag listened to us. "Oh, gods…"

"So, I know it's not your fault," Lyon murmured. He tried to smile, but it was pained. "Unfortunately, it is 'convenient', so…"

"Right, of course." Eirka shook her head and managed a smile for him. It was tired and pained, but Lyon seemed to appreciate it. "Oh, but you said you needed to leave."

"Ah, yes. I got distracted."

"Though, you could stay. We would welcome you, you know."

"I know, but believe it or not, I can exert some… control… over my father." Lyon shrugged helplessly. "It's all I can do."

"Lyon…"

"Wow, you're a lot like Ephraim described," I commented, mostly to try and lighten the mood. I still felt unsettled. I didn't know why. Maybe it was the blood. Carlyle's body had been cleared out, but the blood remained. "Very smart, very shy, but very brave."

"Ephraim said that?" Lyon asked. His expression blanked, like he couldn't believe it. But then he beamed, flushing slightly. "Ha… I'm not used to praise." He snapped his fingers like he just remembered something. "Ah, right! Renais!" He focused on Eirika again. "There's not a lot of soldiers there. And the one who rules it, someone named Orson, isn't actually… doing anything. I don't know if that's good or not, but Ephraim might be able to use that?"

"Well, we can get spies on it?" I felt like my thoughts had stopped, so I just said the first thing I could. That… Orson wasn't… he was just letting Renais… I couldn't comprehend it. "You have mentioned leaving, twice now."

"Right, yes, sorry." He smiled sheepishly. "I just… want to help. As much as I can. I was too weak to stop this, so…"

"Lyon, don't feel like you have to make up for your father," Eirika chided. She smiled softly and shook her head. "All Ephraim and I want is for you to be safe. You're our friend, after all."

"Yes, always," Lyon replied instantly. He smiled back, warmly and gently. "I will always be your friend. I'm sorry for all of this. I'll… try to explain. If I see you again."

"When. We will see each other again."

"…Yeah." His smile faltered slightly, just slightly, and that unsettled feeling grew. "We will." He disappeared then in a whirlwind of purple magic. I frowned as I caught a sudden pulse of black fire, twisting and clawing at the purple magic, but everything was gone far too fast. I wasn't even sure I'd seen it, really.

"You okay?" I asked Eirika as soon as he was out of sight. I leaned into her, nudging her side. "I mean…"

"I don't know," she whispered. She leaned against me too, smiling. "But I'm glad he's the same. I'm glad he's alive."

"Aaaand your feelings?"

"Hey! No teasing!"

"Payback is a bitch, isn't it?"

"Grr...!"

"There you two are!" L'arachel swung in, breathless and sweaty, with her hair falling out of her ribbons. Both Eirika and I jumped and tried to whirl to attack the sudden source of sound, then tried to play off how we almost killed her. "Goodness, what are you two doing?" she half-demanded, not noticing how jumpy we were. "Emma, you were supposed to tell Eirika that we found Queen Ismaire!"

"I'm sorry," I replied. I thought very quickly and came up with a plausible lie with an ease that I wasn't sure I liked. "It was my injuries, L'arachel. We thought I might've reopened something."

"Oh." Instantly, she softened and I felt horribly guilty. "Well, come on now. Queen Ismaire… it's not good."

"Oh?" I frowned, but then I froze, realizing something. "Wait, L'arachel, you're a healer…"

"Yeah." L'arachel looked down at the ground, pressing her fists into her thighs. Her dress was ruined by blood. "She's not going to make it."

"…Oh gods…"

There were no more words. Eirika and I just followed L'arachel out of the throne room and through the halls, turning this way and that. Eventually, we entered some back room, windowless and bare, though there were signs that something might've been here at one point, maybe. In the back of it, away from the crowd of people gathered by the door, was Queen Ismaire, red hair splayed out over Tana's lap, gold circlet dislodged. Her dress had been green, at one point, but now it was mostly crimson from her own blood. A gaping wound bled sluggishly in her abdomen, and sweat rolled down her pinched face. She was gasping, trying to relay something to Tana, Ephraim, and Innes, all gathered around her. Trying to reassure her while she died.

Eirika and L'arachel went to her instantly. I, however, looked through the crowd, wondering where Joshua was. I found him against the wall, clutching his side and leaning heavily against it. I wondered why briefly before I realized what happened. He had _tried_ to walk over to his mother, but he was in too much pain. He couldn't make it. Not on his own.

"Do you need help?" I whispered. He jumped at my voice and glanced down. "Come on. I'll help you limp over to her. You should…"

"…Thank you, petal," he murmured. He leaned on me and I wrapped my arm around his shoulders. "Ugh… damn it..."

"Sorry, bear with me."

"No, no, I can deal. I just… I just…"

"I know." I smiled bitterly. "I think we found our payment for our earlier good luck, huh?"

"Yeah. Gods, damn it." He winced when we got close and he actually saw how large the group was around her. "Ugh… I love those guys, but I…"

"If you can make it the rest of the way…"

"I can. I will."

"Then leave them to me." I helped him prop himself on the wall, and then went over to the group. Quickly and quietly, ignoring their protests, I pulled Ephraim, Eirika, and Innes back, and shifted Queen Ismaire off of Tana's lap.

She grimaced and coughed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and her eyes tried to focus on me. "Tabby?" she rasped. She smiled slightly, but it fell quickly. "No, you can't be. You have both eyes…"

"…My name is Emma," I whispered. This felt so weird. This was Mom's best friend, and here I was, finally meeting her. Right before she died. What luck, right? "I'm her youngest. Well, her surviving one, and her youngest. Monica died."

"Did she?" She laughed breathlessly. It sounded wet and I tried to not flinch. "Well, I guess I'll get to finally meet her soon." She studied my face. "You look like her. Tabby. Back when everyone was still alive." Her eyes flicked over my clothes and my hair ornament. "Are those mine?"

"Yeah, I needed a change of clothes." I was surprised she recognized the dress with how bloody it was. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm surprised you're big enough for them to fit you." She laughed quietly and closed her eyes. "In my head, I always imagined you as a little girl. I'm sorry."

"Eh, I don't mind." A hand fell on my shoulder, and I knew it was Joshua. He made it. Thank everything that was and would be. "Going to move you a bit more. Try to hold on."

Joshua knelt down beside me, and I shifted her to Joshua. He gathered her up in his arms and braced her head against his shoulder. When I was certain that neither were going to fall, I stepped away, trying to ignore the blood dripping down me from Queen Ismaire's wounds. Trying to ignore everyone's weird looks as they wondered what the hell was going on. I half-wanted to push them out of the room, just so that this moment could be just theirs. But I doubted I could manage it. So, instead, I just ignored everything, and kept my attention on Joshua and Queen Ismaire.

"Up, up, up, sleeping beauty," Joshua teased, thankfully unbothered by the audience. He made his voice light, almost cheerful, and Queen Ismaire immediately frowned. "You're wasting the day's blessings, sleeping in like that."

"How do you…?" Queen Ismaire whispered, her eyes fluttering open again. She continued to frown until suddenly she gasped, eyes widening in shock and hope. "Joshua?" One shaky, bloody hand came up to touch his cheek, and Joshua held it there. "Joshua? Is that really…?"

"Sorry I'm late, Mother." Joshua smiled warmly at her. I heard a couple of gasps, and glared in that direction to shut them up. If they had to be here, they could at least be quiet about it. "But I'm home. I'm home, Mother."

"Welcome home, Joshua." Queen Ismaire smiled back, and tears slipped down her face to join the blood. "You're finally home."

"Yes, I am. Sorry I'm so bloody, though." He made a face and she laughed. "Here I was planning on actually being presentable. But Carlyle got some good hits."

"You fought him?"

"I killed him. In a duel."

"Good. Now he can deal with explaining things to Raphael."

"Won't Father forgive him in twenty seconds?"

"That'll be long enough for Tabby to get a shot in." She giggled, and looked up at him adoringly, with the prettiest smile I'd ever seen. "So, did you learn a lot while you were away?"

"Yes. I learned how our people live. I learned the dangers they suffer. I learned how those of other countries viewed us. I… I figured out how I want to lead Jehanna, what projects and laws I want to push." His smile grew. "I made sure to learn a lot, since I left. I wanted to make sure you weren't _too_ mad."

"And did you meet a lot of new people?"

"Many. I made sure of it. After all, you always told me that friends in many places saved a mercenary's life." He grinned. "I even have a girlfriend now. You might've seen her? She's the gold-haired healer."

"Her? She's a pretty one." Queen Ismaire managed a giggle. "Gentle too. Might be a little too nice for a scamp like you."

"Hey, come on, be nice to your son!" He scowled, but she laughed. Then she winced from pain and he looked at her wound. "So, what happened?"

"When I realized Carlyle had betrayed us, I took the Sacred Stone and hid it on me, since he knew it's hiding place. They figured it out, though, so I tried to fight and protect it, but… I couldn't. I lost my edge, and fell." She laughed bitterly, blood trickling down her chin now. Her teeth were bloody now too. So much blood… "Should've been easy. Had an advantage against an axe. What a pathetic end, huh?"

"Well, it's been twenty-five years since you've last really fought, right? And you're hurting."

"Are you calling your mother old?"

"Well, you're older than me!"

"Such a rude child." Her cheer faded and she looked at him seriously. "The one who tempted Carlyle… carried a dark stone and had an air of blood and death… It shouldn't exist. It's the source of this. Its power grew when the stone broke. You must be careful."

"We'll be as careful as anyone can be." Joshua made himself smile. "I mean; we're going to be fighting them, so…"

"Oh, you got that sass from your father." Queen Ismaire winced again, and I noticed her breathing was growing more and more shallow. "I'm so sorry, Joshua. I was so intent on being queen… on running from my own pain… I spared no time to be your mother. I was so foolish."

"I know, Mother. I'm sorry for thinking you'd just be okay with me leaving. I'm sorry for not staying and helping." Joshua smiled bitterly. "We both desperately ran from Father's death, huh?"

"We did."

"Well, good news is that being a mercenary let me understand your grieving method!" He forced the cheer, keeping up the smile. "That's grand, yes?"

"Do better than me?"

"I've more people to rely on than you. I'll be okay." His smile faltered slightly and his voice caught. "I'll be okay. Jehanna will be fine. I can handle it. You go ahead and take a nice long nap. I'm sure you didn't sleep well last night."

"No, I didn't. A nap… does sound good." Her smile softened. "I get to see your father again. I've missed him."

"Tell him that I miss him." Joshua regained his smile, but his eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I miss him a lot, actually."

"I will." Her eyes began unfocusing. "Ah, I wish I'd been a better mother..."

"You were the best one I could've ever had." His smile became tearful, but he still refused to cry. "I love you, Mother."

"I love you more. The thirteen years I had with you were the happiest of my entire life. I only wish I could've had a little more time with you." Queen Ismaire closed her eyes and leaned into him. "Ah, but can you sing _'Wind Beneath My Wings_ ' for me? I haven't heard it in so long… I can't remember the words."

"…Yeah, sure." Joshua kissed her forehead, and tucked her under his chin. "Let's see. Been a while since I sang it too." So he said, but he launched into the song easily. It was a very happy song, and I vaguely remembered Mom singing it, when we were little. It was a song about the bonds people forged and how they gave the singer the strength to forge ahead.

At some point in the song, he began crying, but still he sang, in a clear, warm voice. It wasn't until he stopped singing and hugged his mother a little tighter that I, and the others, realized that Queen Ismaire had died during the song. She had the warmest smile on her face, and I hoped that was the smile her spirit wore when she reunited with King Raphael and Mom. It really was the prettiest smile.

* * *

Thank everything that was holy, Eirika seized command of the army in the wake of Queen Ismaire's death to get things organized and get people out of the room to let Joshua grieve in private. Things cleaned, wounds treated, clothes changed, armor and weapons tended to… our usual after-battle things. I ended up changing into another of Queen Ismaire's short dresses, mostly because my stuff was either outside with Brynhildr or back at the Grado embassy. After changing, though, I discovered that the royals were looking for Joshua, specifically Innes. I half-thought to tell them off, except Tana mentioned trying to find him for Natasha, because of his injuries, and so, I joined the hunt.

Quietly, I walked down the staircase into the crypts below Jehanna Hall, grimacing at how strangely cold and heavy the air felt and trying to not let my lance drag against the stone. I vaguely remembered a story Mom, or maybe Monica, once told me about how there were graves from before Jehanna was Jehanna, during the war with the Demon King, hidden down here. But, right now, those old graves didn't hold my interest. It was Joshua as he pushed a heavy stone slab into place, shutting one of the stone coffins with a heavy thud.

"Joshua?" I called. He didn't answer, just leaned against the stone. "Joshua, if you passed out…"

"No, I'm conscious," he replied. He straightened and turned to face me. He'd changed clothes, and set the Wind Sword on his belt, but his expression was a bit pinched from pain and his eyes were red-rimmed from tears. "Surprised you found me."

"Well, I decided to think of a plausible place that none of the others would think to check. The immediate answer was 'your dad's grave'." I skipped over to him and looked at the two coffins. One had a plaque, proudly declaring the final resting place of King Raphael the Beloved. "Did you bury your mom?"

"I did." He rested a hand against it, expression crumpling. No more tears, but god, he wished he had more to shed. "She deserves a ceremony, but in Jehanna, we believe that until the body has been dealt with, buried or burned or something, the spirit won't be able to pass over. I wanted her to find Father as soon as possible. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get some sort of coffin for her. I won't ask why or how, but Gareth got me one without any sort of explanation."

"You could've asked for help." But, at the same time, I understood. Some things, you just had to do on your own. "Do you mind if I ask something?"

"Hmm?"

"What was that song? It had to be important, if she wanted to make sure she remembered the lyrics."

" _Wind Beneath My Wings_?" He smiled sadly when I nodded. "It was my father's favorite, and it held a special meaning for her and him. They first met because he heard her singing it and he had to find who was singing his favorite song so beautifully. He sang it to confess to her, and later used the song as a distraction to propose."

"So, I imagine it was hard for her to hear it, after everything."

"Especially since Father's last request to me was for me to hear that song. She associated it so much with him that…" He looked at the other coffin, his father's coffin, and the quiet offerings tucked around it. "It had been a normal day."

"Pardon?"

"The day he collapsed. It had been a normal day. We had a family breakfast; we always had breakfast together. Went through morning lessons, had sword practice with Carlyle and Father, had lunch with Mother. The weather was normal. Nothing unusual. Until dinner." He traced random patterns on top of the slab. No dust showed someone had visited often. "We all were walking into the dinner room when he began coughing. Mild at first, but then it got worse and worse. Then he collapsed, puking blood."

"That… had to be horrifying." I thought of when Monica collapsed, gasping for breath as the tumors suffocated her, and shuddered. "Beyond horrifying."

"It was. Worse, though, was that no one would tell me what was going on. Then again, no one knew what illness it was." He relayed the story easily, but in the distant tone of reading a book. Like it had happened to someone else. "I wasn't allowed to see him. I was barred even from the hallway. I was forbidden from being near anyone who visited him. Just in case it was contagious. So, my father collapsed, bloody, and I couldn't see him. I couldn't see Mother. I couldn't see Carlyle. An entire section of the castle was blocked off, and the guards had very specific instructions: do not let me through."

"You managed it, though, yes?"

"Well, yes, I was stubborn. I'd always been stubborn." He smiled slightly. "I took to the library, staying up late, and learned all the secret passages. It wasn't hard, and I hid what I was doing by saying I was practicing Old Jehannan. And within a week, I learned enough to slip past the guards."

"Everyone must've been so incredibly pleased to see you apply your lessons in such an unorthodox manner."

"Well, Father laughed when I told him." He dug his fingers into the stone. I stopped him, because I was afraid he'd scrape up his fingertips. "He was pale and thin. Bedridden. He could barely breathe. But he laughed. He laughed and begged me to tell him what all I'd been up to. Like it was a normal day." He closed his eyes, and I knew he was remembering it perfectly. "Then he told me to follow my heart. How I would want to lead, what kind of king I wanted to be… he told me to listen to my instincts and follow the path my heart told me to take."

"Is that why you left?"

"Well, that's why I told myself I left. I think I was also just desperate to escape, to run from his death. Maybe I also wanted to punish Mother, just a little, for suddenly leaving me so alone." He opened his eyes again, and his smile turned bitter. "What a foolish child I was. I couldn't understand why she'd be working and not crying. I couldn't understand why I couldn't run up and get a hug, like normal. I couldn't understand why I never got to see her. I couldn't understand why no one else seemed bothered or in pain over Father's death. I couldn't understand anything. So, I ran. I ran, and became a mercenary."

"And met us?"

"And met you all. Not all bad. I learned a lot too. I know how I want to rule, and the direction I want to take Jehanna." He sighed and stepped away from the coffins, hand falling to the Wind Sword on his belt. "Ah, but you were looking for me. What's up?"

"What? Can't I simply be worried for my big brother?" I leaned into his side teasingly before straightening. "Well, to be serious, the others were looking for you. Like Innes."

"Oh, gods, he's going to be formal as all hell."

"Right. So, do you want me to pretend I didn't find you? Or smuggle you to Natasha?"

"Tempting, but no." He gently touched his mom's stone coffin. "No, I told her I'd be the king. So, I'm going to be the king. I won't run away anymore."

"I wouldn't consider it running away, but that's neither here nor there." I shrugged, not wanting to argue. Not now. I was too tired. He was too tired. It had been a long day. "Do you want me to come with to make them remember that you've had a very rough few days if it goes too long?"

"I will take the moral support, yes." He nodded, psyching himself up, and took my hand. "Let's go."

I led him upstairs and we began looking for the other royals. By asking around, we found them fairly quickly, in one of the few rooms that wasn't bloody. No Tana, but Eirika, Ephraim, Innes, and L'arachel were there. They'd been talking with each other, but all fell silent when Joshua and I walked in. An uncomfortable silence reigned as we all tried to figure out who should start talking first.

Finally, though, Eirika broke the silence. "Joshua, hey," she greeted. She smiled kindly at him, but there was a nervousness to it. A worry. "How… are you doing?"

"Aha, let's defer that answer, shall we?" Joshua suggested. He smiled back, though, and it looked real enough. "So, seriousness?"

"Only if you're up for it." She glared at Innes when he opened his mouth. "Innes, I swear…!"

"Careful, Innes, Eirika's temper is worse than mine," Ephraim teased. He gave Joshua a sympathetic look. "But, seriously, if you're not up for it…"

"Then petal would've had me hidden away and you would never ever find me," Joshua pointed out. I nodded for emphasis, though I made sure to keep silent. I really shouldn't be involved in this sort of thing, but I told Joshua I would be here. So, here I was. "But, regardless, I suppose I should give a proper introduction now that the cat is out of the bag. To be serious and formal." He bowed, the picture of elegance suddenly. "I am Joshua Ishmael, King of Jehanna, ruler of the white dunes and the blue oases of the vast desert. I welcome you to my realm." He straightened, grinned, and winked. "I am also the most audacious royal in all of Magvel and there is not a thing you can do to take that title from me."

"I would say so! However did you hide as a mercenary, in your _own capital_ , for ten years?" L'arachel half-demanded, absolutely indignant. Innes desperately tried to keep up his stoicness, while Ephraim looked ready to laugh. Eirika just facepalmed, but smiled. "While being friendly with like everyone!"

"Audacity." Joshua shrugged, unbothered. "And, well, I was thirteen. You know what was happening at thirteen? Puberty. I was a gangly adolescent. I grew into my height and build."

"Though, you apparently look enough like your dad that freaking Carlyle thought you were a ghost come back from the dead to smite him," I pointed out dryly, unable to help it. Joshua immediately began snickering, while the others looked confused. "Your dad coming back from the dead was more plausible to him than you just returning."

"Going to point out that he thought you were your mother," Joshua countered. He grinned, pretending to ignore how incredulous-exasperated the others were becoming. I did as well. This was too much fun. "Well, Mother did too."

"Queen Ismaire was dying. Carlyle wasn't. Yet. Though I do wish I had my bow instead of my lance." I held it up slightly for emphasis. "Then I could've really screwed with his head."

"Oh, right, Aunt Tabitha was a sniper."

"Yep!"

"Excuse me," Innes cut in. He was definitely more exasperated now. "There are things to do."

"Yes, there are," Joshua reluctantly agreed. He shrugged, and crossed his arms. "So, your royal seriousness-" He grinned as the others began giggling. "No one can keep a straight face. No one."

"Anyway." Innes spoke slowly, like a parent dealing with an unruly child. "On behalf of Frelia-"

"Yes, yes, letter. Aid. Promise." Joshua's grin grew. "I don't need the explanation. I've been with the group longer than you. So, what's the seriousness? What needs to be done? What formalities need to be done?"

"Well, it's not a formality, but it is a curiosity," L'arachel began, taking over again, mostly because Innes pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly knocked off his 'script'. She curtseyed, for some reason, before continuing. "Sorry, I just realized I was rude after your introduction. But, a question, if I may?"

"Sure, what's the question?" Joshua asked. He winked at Innes, silently conveying that he was just messing with him, and turned his full attention to L'arachel. "Let's see if I have an answer."

"What were you planning? With your heritage and all?" She smiled sympathetically when Joshua's cheer faded. "I'm sorry if it's rude. As I said, I was simply curious."

"Well, the original plan had been to discuss it with Mother, truthfully. I'd sneak in ahead, get a nice little reunion, and then we'd talk about what to do. Sadly, my luck only made sure I got to see her one more time." Joshua's posture straightened and his expression became serious. "As it stands, though, I do intend on seeing this through to the end. I lost a bet after all." He covered my mouth as soon as I opened it and leaned it to whisper. "Not a word."

"You threw that bet," I hissed back, cupping my hand around my mouth to make sure the others couldn't hear. "I know I'm the only person who knows that, but still."

"Yes, and keep it quiet. Innes is insistent on learning how I win all the time, and he hasn't figured out that I cheat yet."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. It's his seriousness working against him. And his pride. And his stubbornness. It's hilarious. Don't spoil my fun." He grinned as the others frowned at him. "Nothing, nothing at all. Don't worry about it. Petal is just teasing me and-" He paused suddenly, and glanced out into the hallway. "Wait, that smell…" The rest of us looked at each other in confusion, but then Ephraim frowned, peering outside too. "You catch it as well?"

"Barely," Ephraim replied. He took Eirika's hand, and glowered at the floor. "If you hadn't said something, I would've dismissed it. I don't know what it is..."

"I do," Joshua hissed. He was perfectly serious and he began pushing us out the door. "It's oil. Get everyone out. They're going to start a fire. That's the trap."

While I was sure we all just wanted to groan in annoyance, we rushed out the door and down the hall. When we passed by a tapestry, Eirika slipped in something. I caught her, twisting to make sure my lance, still poisoned, didn't scratch her, and discovered why no one had noticed anything sooner. Even being right on top of it, I couldn't smell anything. Resisting the urge to growl in frustration, I followed the others , yelling at everyone we passed to get the hell out before the fires started. At least, until I noticed Joshua split off from us and go a different way. A way I was certain led deeper into Jehanna Hall, not out.

"Joshua!" I yelled. He didn't react. He just kept running. "Joshua, I think the way out is where the others ran!" However, ever-smart me decided to follow him instead of the group with sensible people. "Hey!" Thankfully, due to his injuries, I actually managed to catch up. Barely. "What could be this important?"

"Weapons," he answered immediately. He gave me a dirty look. "Shouldn't you run outside with the others?"

"You think I'm going to explain to Natasha that I saw you leave and didn't try to stop you?"

"Okay, point." He made a sharp turn down another hallway. I nearly crashed into the wall trying to follow. On the second sharp turn, I nearly stabbed myself with my own lance. "Shouldn't take-" He winced as we saw smoke spiraling up ahead, and skidded to a stop before going a different way. "Oh, gods damn it."

"Yeah, fire bad." Still, as we ran, I noticed a strange little pattern. "Wait, its not that extensive, is it? The fire, I mean. If they were trying to destroy the place..."

"There would be far more flames." He nodded to some perfectly untouched tapestries that we passed by. "If I had to guess, they targeted the bigger areas, enough to smoke us outside and…" He facepalmed, even as he kept on running. "Gods damn it, Caellach. I hate you so much."

"Let me guess. This isn't the real trap."

"Yep. This is a favored tactic of his and I stupidly forgot about it. We'll likely going to run face first into an army and-" He paused suddenly, eyes darkening with pain and hatred. "Axe…"

"Pardon?"

"No, nothing for now." He relaxed and smiled. It almost hid the pain. "Weapons now. Not too far."

I thought about replying, but decided against it. Instead, I kept on following him, trusting him completely. Eventually, we returned to the room where Queen Ismaire died, and I almost slipped in the blood that remained. But I regained my balance in time to see Joshua press against the back wall in a few places. The grinding of stone heralded a door opening, and I helped Joshua pull it open before following him through. It was a tight fit, barely large enough for a single person with a weapon, but it wasn't long before the hall opened up into a dusty, cold room, horribly dark. Thankfully, there wasn't a lot to trip over, just a stone floor and an altar in the back, holding something.

"Is that a tome and a sword?" I asked, squinting at them. My voice echoed eerily off the walls. "They're important?"

"They're Excalibur and Audhelma, petal," Joshua explained, picking them up. I didn't ask why. "The Sacred Twin weapons of Jehanna."

"This has to be the most out of the way place to hide something."

"Yes, well, making it hard to get to decreases the chances of it being used on a whim." He strapped Audhelma to his waist, unbuckling the Wind Sword from it in the process. He looked at it sadly, but then tucked Excalibur under his arm. "King Kasimir wanted them hidden, as a visible sign that times were peaceful."

"What was the room before here, then? If he wanted this that hidden, I can assume it normally holds something?"

"Storage. That it's empty is a lovely sign of how bad food crisis is." He sighed, shaking his head. "Damn it. So much to do…"

"Including getting out of here?" I poked his cheek, annoyed. "Let's get to a window or something. How were you planning on escaping if I wasn't here?"

"I know practically every way in and out of this place." He grinned. "But window is much more convenient, so thank you!"

"Gods, some days, brother…!" I threw up my free hand in pretend-real annoyance and strode out the door, back into the too small hallway. "You're dealing with all the lectures!"

"I already said I would!" His laughter echoed strangely behind me. "Make a left when you get out of the room!"

"Fine, fine!" I did as he said, and came upon a window before long. He caught up while I struggled to get it open, and looked down. "Wow, we're… up higher than I thought." I didn't really register climbing stairs, but maybe it was all on an incline. "Oh, whatever. Brynhildr!"Almost immediately, I heard her answering call, and in just a handful of seconds, she was at the window, cooing and not-purring at us. "Hey, sweetie. Mind helping us?" She nuzzled my cheek. "Thank you~!"

"You get on first and I'll pass you the tome and sword," Joshua insisted. He helped me secure my lance to her saddle and gave me his hand to use as a balance. "Let's go."

It took a little bit of contorting to slip out the window and get into the saddle. As soon as I did, though, I took the tome and Wind Sword from him and helped him climb on behind me. When we were both settled in, Brynhildr took off, arcing around the smoking castle to the front courtyard, where she landed in the sands easily, just away from the others. I passed Joshua back the tome and blade, and dismounted, to check on her armor and saddle to make sure it was ready for a full-out battle. There was no fighting yet, but I doubted that would be it for long.

So did Joshua. "Hello, people!" he called, walking to the others. I saw no few give double-takes and didn't blame them. He was very much in a 'I do not give a single damn' mood, which was both amusing and exasperating. "This is for you, Saleh." He passed Excalibur to Saleh, and Saleh almost dropped it in surprise. "And Gerik, either you or Marisa take this." He tossed the Wind Sword to Gerik, who caught it easily, and then he strode right up to Innes and Ephraim, since they were the ones normally coming up with tactics. "As for the rest of us, we have, at most, a minute to strengthen our defense for an assault and coordinate a fire brigade so that there's a few places to rest up." Joshua sighed, and glowered at the sky. "Sun God, now would be a great time for a blessing since this is not a good day."

That was an understatement. That was the biggest understatement I'd ever heard.

* * *

Next Chapter – Scorched Sands


	24. Chapter 15) Scorched Sands

Chapter 15) Scorched Sands

* * *

 _Carlyle betrayed Jehanna. Queen Ismaire is dead. Joshua revealed himself as the Crown Prince, now King, of Jehanna. We fought through a lot of battles and were left with battered spirits and tired bodies. Then we fell into a two-fold trap, and now, we're fighting more because there's nothing else we can do in this situation._

 _This is the longest day I think any of us have ever suffered. It certainly feels like the longest day I've dealt with. Gods, damn it all. Can't they be nice to us for once?_

* * *

"It's going to be okay," I whispered to the child clinging to me. They sniffled and tried to bury their face in my chest. I stopped them, because the metal of my chest plate was just too hot for that. I didn't want them to burn themselves. "And… here we go!" I dropped the child off at one of the forts-turned-shelters and someone took them below, just as had happened with the last however many I'd ferried. After checking for nearby enemies, and finding everything clear, I urged Brynhildr up again to look for more stragglers. "Ready for the next one, sweetie?" She growled and nodded, even though she was tired enough to droop. "Thank you. I'm sorry for all this."

If someone had told me that this fight had been going for four days, I'd call them on their bullshit only because I knew that the sun hadn't set yet. In fact, the sun was high overhead and it beat down mercilessly on all of us. What bits of skin we had showing were horribly red, and possibly blistering, from the sunburn, and I'd nearly thrown up on a few occasions because of the heat. It was brutal, and I wasn't even _fighting-_ fighting. I'd been ferrying civilians out of the city and into more secured locations, while also doing a bit of fire rescue. Because, of course, the fire set in Jehanna Hall had been large enough to spread into other parts of the city. The Jehannans, led by Joshua and Gerrik, organized fire brigades to put out the flames. Everyone else, mostly our group and the Raustenian soldiers, fought off the Grado soldiers to buy the time needed. It was a mess. It was a big, big mess.

"Emma, up!"

Not even hesitating, I jerked Brynhildr up, barely dodging a wyvern rider, and I drew and loosed an arrow in one smooth motion. It caught the wyvern through the wing and down wyvern and rider fell, screaming until they hit the ground with a giant red splat. I winced in sympathy, but that was the extent of my reaction. I was too exhausted to even pretend more. I felt horrible about it, but…

"We might need to do another flight to make sure none of ours are about to faint from heatstroke." Cormag flew even with me and offered me some water. He smiled when I hesitated. "I was just dropping some burn victims off at the infirmary, so it's actually a spare one," he explained. He laughed when I snatched it and took a huge gulp. I didn't want to steal _his_ water, but spares were fair game. "Looks like the Jehannans are letting the Raustenians work on them finally."

"Thank everything," I sighed, covering my mouth to make sure none of the precious water dribbled out. I passed him back the waterskin, and smiled slightly when I noticed how sunburned his face, neck, and arms were. "So, how red is my face? As red as yours?"

"It's clashing with your hair."

"Figured." I wiped at my nose and grimaced when I caught some skin. I was peeling already. "Gods, this sucks so much. There's going to be so many sick people when this is over, and we're going to go through so much balm…"

"I get now why the whole wise words about the desert being Jehanna's greatest defense persist. It no longer deters invaders as it once did, but gods above, we're all idiots for fighting in its heat."

"Yep." I looked down at the fighting, noticing that almost everyone, friend and foe, didn't fight with as much fervor as before. They fought the heat and sand as much as each other, and it was clear from way up here just who was winning. The desert. It, like death, always won in the end. "I think our enemy expected us to buckle a lot sooner."

"I think we're not buckling from sheer stubbornness." He leaned down and splashed some water into Genarog and Brynhildr's mouths. Brynhildr cooed a thanks while Genarog simply nodded. "Where's Tana and Vanessa?"

"They're on fire rescue duty, like we… were? Are? I lost track of what I was supposed to do after dropping off that kid." A quick look down made me grimace as I took note of the fight. "Though, at this point, I'm wondering if we should focus on saving the cavalry." Though the heat and sand bogged all of us, the cavalry… well, they had to deal with worrying over their horses. So did us fliers, but we at least didn't have to fight the sand on top of everything. "Though I see some have dismounted to..." I frowned as I noticed something, fear hitting me like a cold wave. "I don't see Gilliam…"

"I saw him in the infirmary. He tried his best, but he had to fall back from heatstroke. I think a few of the heavily armored Grado soldiers have dropped dead." He glanced up suddenly and sighed. "I'm grateful that we don't have a wyvern general and all the related forces here, but…"

"Tag team wyverns while Tana and Vanessa handle rescues?"

"Low or high?"

"High."

"Got it."

We both flew up then, and I made sure to go higher while he flew under the wyverns before snaking up to strike. It was a bit surprising how easily Cormag and I fought together, but I figured it was due to our wyverns more than anything. Genarog and Brynhildr had been taught together, and so, since I left a lot of the flying to her discretion when we were actually fighting, she adapted to Genarog easily. It was a bit difficult making sure I lined up shots in a way that didn't hit Cormag, but other than that little bit, we fell in well enough. With a bit more practice, we'd probably be a very good team. As it stood, there were some awkward bits, some coordination that clunked, but we tore through the wyvern riders before long, leaving us alone in the skies again. Tana and Vanessa weren't in sight, but that was likely because they'd landed to pull someone out of a burning building. Again.

A scream before caught my ear, and I tensed up when I saw Eirika had been targeted by some fire mage. Ephraim killed the mage, and Saleh quickly healed up the worst of the burns, but I went cold. And in that cold state, I noticed that she was far from the only one being hit by magic. In fact, Cormag and I were targeted by a few right after she was, which let me see just where the Grado mages were clustered. I watched them closely, studying their defenses, and reached up to touch the string of the talisman I wore. Brynhildr growled and nodded, already knowing what I wanted to do, and so, I settled back in the saddle and she arced around before diving straight for the group of mages congregated deep within enemy lines.

Fire and thunder spells flew past my face. A couple hit me. There was no way to avoid that. But, thanks to the talisman I wore, none hit me hard enough to break my focus or to make Brynhildr reconsider the dive, and so, Brynhildr landed among them in a spray of sand and blood, clear behind their defenses. She lashed out with her teeth and claws, and I picked off the farther ones with my bow. Distantly, I noticed that my aim had improved significantly in the past few days. I could kill with one or two arrows instead of three or four. A very good thing, considering that my quiver was emptying quickly. In fact, I had to pull Brynhildr away because I _ran out of arrows_ , not because the mages were gone, but thankfully, Cormag appeared to assist in my escape with some hit and runs, picking off the mages I couldn't reach.

Before I had Brynhildr take off for the safety of the air, I looked around for archers. Noticing one close, and after a moment of feeling horrendously guilty, I nudged Brynhildr to kill them so that I could take their quiver. I tried to justify it by making sure they couldn't attack my side, but I felt like the worst person in the world anyway. I hated war. I hated fighting. I hated it so much.

"So, that gives me… thirty-five more arrows…" I mumbled, adding the stolen arrows into my quiver. Brynhildr crooned reassuringly, but even that couldn't shake that deep feeling of guilt or self-hatred. From up here, I could see all the blood, some of which was my fault, and I was well aware that all of them had people waiting for them. People who'd only get a corpse back, if they were lucky. "Thirty five more shots…"

"Can you warn next time you do a diving run?" Cormag asked, flying level with me again. He had some burn marks on top of his sunburns now, same as me. "I could've covered you better."

"Sorry. I'm still adapting to having a second wyvern rider who can actually pull things like that with me?" I thought it was a fairly good explanation, but he gave me an exasperated look, so I shrugged. "Okay, and Brynhildr and I got mad. I think you've been warned that the two of us can be reckless?"

"Warned, yes. Thought they were just confusing smart wyvern tactics for recklessness, also yes. Clearly, though, I was only half-right." He sighed and I shrugged again, glancing away sheepishly. "You know, normally, rider and wyvern make up for each other's mental lapses."

"Oops?" I had no other real reply, so I thought about trying to change the subject. A low rumble made both of us jump and we looked up sharply as we noticed something that chilled me. Literally. The heat that had bogged us was rapidly cooling, because pale-grey clouds were rolling in with almost horrifying speed. "That's… not good." I thought of what Joshua had said about desert storms, and remembered this storm was coming after a particularly dry year. "Oh, that's not good at all." But then I thought about it, and realized something. "Or maybe it is."

"That's a fast about face." He frowned as I started hunting through the soldiers below. "Why say that?"

"The general in charge is Jehannan. He'll know the dangers of storms in the desert. So, he'll know that he has only two choices: fall back or push forward. Honestly, at this point, we'll have almost all the civilians in easily defensible areas, and this storm is coming fast, so if they're to actually get a victory, he'll need to end this decisively soon. So, if we can somehow force him…" I sighed, shaking my head. "Okay, that sounded like gibberish, but point is, we're on a time limit, and the enemy also knows this, so if we can _really_ get them to feel that time limit, then maybe..."

The air began humming, a strange almost-song that I more felt than heard. I looked around, wondering if someone was singing a particularly beautiful song. Seeing no one, I then wondered if my ears were just ringing from all the stress and heat. But Cormag looked around too, frowning, so we both flew up higher in an attempt to hunt down the source of the sound. But there wasn't any 'source'. It was just everywhere. At least, until the wind suddenly surged downward with almost enough force to knock Brynhildr clear out of the air. Genarog did actually buckle, but Brynhildr twisted to support him and I grabbed onto Cormag to give what meager help I could.

As we clung to each other, we both looked down and saw the wind centered around Saleh, based on the clothing and hair color. A tome with a green cover, glowing gold, fluttered in his hands, and after a moment, I realized I actually recognized it as Excalibur, the Divine Wind, which Joshua had passed to Saleh just before all this started. The wind continued to swirl and swirl and then Saleh gestured sharply. The wind surged and again, we were nearly knocked from the sky. As it was, we were blasted back and I lost my grip on Cormag as Brynhildr and I flipped over and over.

She screeched, desperately trying to right herself, and I tried to keep from panicking as I remembered the _last_ time I was flipping this much and Brynhildr was in so little control of her flight. But she regained control before long, and I leaned over immediately, coughing and choking as my stomach decided whether or not it would stop turning enough to throw up. It decided 'no', so I just had a very lovely view of where a bunch of the enemy had been blown off their feet and buried in the sands and a very large, very noticeable _slice_ where the sand itself had parted. The little bits of armor, blood, and body parts showed that all those in the path had been obliterated. Absolutely obliterated.

"You mentioned something about forcing them to feel the time limit." Cormag and Genarog appeared beside us, and Cormag rested a hand on my lower back, where my armor wasn't. "So, did you mean like that?" he asked dryly. I noticed that parts of his armor were actually loosened, and I checked my own and Brynhildr's to make sure the buckles held. Thankfully, hers had, but my own had been nearly flown off. "Because that seemed like it."

"I didn't expect, you know, _that_ -that," I protested, feeling horribly defensive. I wasn't even sure why. "But, something _like_ that, I suppose? With less wind and falling and flipping and-"

"Emma." He tilted my face up to look at me. "Take deep breaths."

"Pardon?"

"Take deep breaths."

"Okay." Carefully, I focused on my breathing, and then closed my eyes to do a 'quick' Valega. It wasn't as extensive as the ones I normally did, but it was enough to settle my mind and for my stomach to stop turning. "Okay. I'm okay."

"You look better." Cormag was smiling when I opened my eyes again. "You were blanching."

"I'll take your word for it. I can't exactly see my face." But I could believe it. That hadn't exactly been a normal experience. "Anyone moving down there?"

"We've some fighting but… ah." Cormag pointed towards someone. "There. That's Caellach."

"You sure?"

"I'm from Grado, remember? I recognize him even from up here."

"Oh. Right."

It took him pointing a couple of times before I finally saw the man casually walking towards the city. He had a large axe slung onto his back, and unlike most of the Grado soldiers, he wore leather armor. Even from here, I caught the sparkle of rings, necklaces, and earrings. His hair was either auburn or brown, and I couldn't tell much else, save he walked the sands with ease, with a lazy walk. This was Caellach, then, the mercenary turned general responsible for the destruction of Frelia's sacred stone, and the fact that he looked up at the clouds with a frown told me this was him trying to make that push. Otherwise, he'd have no place to hide that wasn't 'away from here'.

"Joshua!" he called, voice carrying surprisingly far. The soldiers below remained perfectly still, reeling from Excalibur and stunned by the Grado General personally calling out someone. "Joshua, where the hell are you? I've been looking all over the battlefield for you!"

"Then you shouldn't have set the damn city on fire." Joshua strode out of the city easily, glancing around to take in the situation. His clothes were sooty. He had ash in his still tied-back hair. He wore gloves now, and I wondered if they were hiding burns. "Seriously, did you have to spread the oil out like that?" he groaned, stopping when he was within 'lunging' distance of Caellach. His arm casually fell to his sword, but nothing about his demeanor seemed like he felt threatened. I marveled briefly at how he'd been conveniently close enough to answer Caellach, and figured he'd been on his way anyway. I saw the smoke spiraling out in the city, but no more flames. "Fine way to say 'hello', Caellach. It's been a while."

"It has indeed." Caellach smiled. I could see that from up here, though I had to get Brynhildr to fly to get a better look at his face. "Two years, I think."

"Sounds about right." Joshua shrugged, perfectly calm. I recognized it as the same calm he had right before fighting Carlyle, but no one else seemed bothered by it. That only unnerved me more. "That innkeeper's still mad you stiffed him, by the way."

"That old dog is still alive?" Caellach laughed, and it made my skin crawl. Not because it was mad or anything, but because of how _genuine_ it was. "How's the rest of the troop doing?"

"Sunthorns broke up not long after you left. The ones the crows haven't fed on are doing well, though."

"I see." Caellach actually looked a bit saddened by it. "Those were good times, weren't they? We were terrors on the battlefield, and worse off it."

"We definitely were. We managed to have some fun with it." Joshua shrugged. "You'd always pick fights, though, and always said the same thing. 'I will be king!' or something."

"Yeah, that's my dream. And I'll do anything to make it true." Caellach leaned forward slightly, grinning. "Hey, what do you say, Joshua? Let's team up again? Leave those losers you're with and work for me."

"Sorry, can't do that. I'm on contract, and I'm not going to let you use me for anything. I played along at Serafew because of our friendship, but not now."

"Bah, you're still a cold fish." Caellach leaned back, still smiling. "That's one thing that hasn't changed about you."

"And you're as shameless as ever."

"That's the truth!" Caellach laughed. Again, it was genuine. "Bit of a shame, though. I think back on those days a lot, especially lately. My axe and your sword… the two of us were a deadly pair."

"We were. Then you got all proper and joined the Grado army."

"I did, but I don't think you can talk about 'going proper'." Caellach's grin had a distinct edge to it now. I could see that even from up here. "I mean; you're the prince of Jehanna. Almost didn't believe it, but Queen Ismaire had pictures of you all over the place and you and I have known each other since the Etna Revolt."

"Well, I never denied it when someone brought it up."

"True, I suppose. But man, come on." He shook his head. "When did you plan on sharing the wealth, sneaky dog?"

"You can't reduce a nation into something that is divided, like loot. And you don't hold a country simply by taking the throne. You have to take the time to learn about your people, and you have to work hard to govern and protect them. That's what being a king is about." Joshua's eyes narrowed when Caellach rolled his eyes. "But, since you're talkative, I've a question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"My mother fell to an axe wielder. It was you, wasn't it?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry about that." Caellach shrugged, completely nonchalant. Hatred gripped my heart and, in a flash of temper, I nearly drew my bow and fired an arrow. Cormag, thankfully, stopped me. "She fought rather well, considering her age and how out of practice she was. I told her that if she gave me the stone, I'd just let her go. I don't like killing technical civilians, you know, and she was your mother. But she kept on fighting, so I had to kill her to get the stone."

"...I see."

"Aw, Joshua, don't hate me for it!" Caellach grinned. "This is war. There's nothing you can do about it. Besides, grudges get in the way of work."

"That's true. They do indeed." Joshua smiled very slowly, and Caellach's cheer finally faltered. "But, well… you did just admit to killing her. That's murder, and regicide at that. That's a big crime here in Jehanna. So, I'm afraid I've got to do my job as king and execute you. Don't hold it against me, will you? It's just business."

"You…! Your arrogance hasn't changed either!" Caellach palmed his axe. Joshua remained still, perfectly calm, still smiling. "I've always wanted to show you who's better, Joshua, and I'm even stronger than I used to be. You're a stepping stone, and I'm moving up!"

"No, you're going to fall instead. I will never let you near Jehanna's throne." Joshua shrugged, completely unbothered. "Though, clearly, you have indeed gotten stronger. You certainly did well against an arthritic, out of practice swordswoman in a duel when she didn't have her best weapon." He said the words lightly, and Caellach snarled in response. "And I'll admit that I'm not at my best at the moment. I took a lot of injuries killing Carlyle. But that's why I've got this sword here. I'm evening the odds with it."

He unsheathed Audhulma then, and instantly, everything just… froze. The air. The sands. The people. For a split second, it felt like we'd all been incased in ice. Then the feeling passed, but I found myself coughing, desperately trying to get a good breath. Brynhildr, Cormag, and Genarog all reacted the same way, which made me feel both better and worst. I scanned below, and saw that a lot of people were struggling to breathe, just like us. I reached over to reassure Brynhildr and found a small layer of frost, already melting, on her armor and that, for a brief moment, her scales were freezing to the touch. I briefly wondered why there was so much ice, but then I remembered the stories. Audhulma was the blade of ice, the bane of those who wielded magic. Excalibur was the tome that made the wind sing. Audhulma was the blade that made the wind freeze.

In the middle of thinking all of that, I saw Joshua lunge, and Caellach unfroze barely in time to not just be skewered in one hit. Frost spiraled out as blade met axe. It continued shedding little bits of ice as the two dueled it out in the sands, with the sky darkening and rumbling overhead. A duel to the death. Perhaps even, a duel for Jehanna's throne.

I thought about watching. I was worried, because I knew Joshua wasn't fully healed, and he wasn't going into this battle with a clear mind. But I noticed others had also unfrozen, and I saw a few Grado soldiers aim for Joshua, so instead, I decided to take my frustrations out on them. Brynhildr gleefully agreed and screeched as she swooped down and picked a few up. Cormag followed quickly, having Genarog do a fly-by while he struck those unfortunate enough to be close. Brynhildr dropped the ones she picked up and I shot others as Brynhildr circled around. Slowly but surely, the rest of the combatants unfroze enough to fight back too. I worried that Excalibur might be used again, but there was no sign of that, so I fought without fear, focusing on those targeting Joshua to make sure he had his duel. No one was getting close. I'd forbidden it.

At some point, after anywhere between a hundred hours and a few seconds, there was a strangely loud clanging noise, and I pulled Brynhildr around to check for the source. Unsurprisingly, I saw it was Caellach and Joshua. Caellach's wounds bled oddly, with strange scabbing blocking the flow of blood. Joshua's side, where Carlyle had injured him earlier, poured blood, showing that the battle had reopened his half-healed wounds. But neither seemed to notice the pain as they struck at each other again and again, barely blocking each blow. Barely dodging. Throwing everything they had into each attack, fully aware that each one could be the one that ended it.

But then, all at once, Caellach didn't move fast enough. He winced as he brought up his arm, glanced at the strangely bleeding wound, and didn't block Joshua's attack. He caught him straight in the chest, and there was a strange moment of stillness as both duelists registered what happened. But everything moved again when Caellach coughed up blood. He might've said something, some sort of last words, but Joshua simply ripped the blade out, the blood spraying and then freezing into spikes. The ice slowly crawled out of the wound, cracking along Caellach's skin as he fell into the sand, dead and half-frozen. And then, like they'd been waiting for that very moment, the skies opened up and the rain came down.

"Soldiers of Grado!" Joshua called through the thunder and the pouring rain. He held himself tall and proud, the picture of dignified fury. "Your general has fallen! I demand your unconditional surrender, and for you to leave my realm before the desert floods take you!" Silence. Thunder. Rain. And then everyone ran. Grado soldiers ran away. Our people ran into the city, seeking shelter now that it was safe. Now that the battle was over.

I didn't run for safety, though. Not yet. Instead, I had Brynhildr fly down next to Joshua, and I unbuckled myself and dismounted as quickly as my aching limbs let me. The rain pummeled my back, hard enough that I swore I'd be covered in bruises, but I didn't care. I went right up to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and back to support him. Automatically, he leaned against me, and I could see how grey his face was. I could feel the warm blood from his reopened and new injuries. I could hear how much he struggled to hide how hard it was for him to breathe.

Brynhildr cooed and not-purred behind us and shifted her wing over us to shield us from the downpour. Both Joshua and I looked up at her, and then up at the still darkening sky, the pale-grey clouds slowly turning an angry grey-purple as they bled rain. "So, the legally rightful king returns…" Joshua whispered. He began laughing, leaning against me as the strength and battle-fever left him. "And the dry spell ends? " I checked for any potential attackers, but found only Caellach's corpse. His blood was still frozen in his wounds. "Oh, how the bards will sing of this nonsensical coincidence."

"Perhaps it's your mother reminding you that things will be okay," I replied. I hugged him a little tighter, focusing solely on keeping him up. "Or perhaps she marched right up to the gods and demanded that they give her people some rain to give you less to worry about."

"She would." Though he still laughed, I saw the tears slipping down his face. I felt them hit my neck. "Ah, damn it all…"

"Let me get you inside. You need to rest and healing."

"Thanks, petal."

"Always, brother. Always."

* * *

Joshua was fast asleep. Natasha dozed in a chair next to him, loosely holding his hand. I tucked blankets around them both and kissed their cheeks before leaving their room and heading down the hall. Outside, it was pouring, an outright deluge, to the point that you could barely see the bright lightning flashing and crackling in the distance. Thunder boomed, loud enough to rattle the windows, and the sound of rain was so constant that you just automatically tuned it out. The storm that ended Jehanna's dry spell was clearly trying to make up for the previous lack. I wondered how much flooding there would be.

"I hope the others are safe inside like us," I whispered, leaning against the blessedly cool window to watch the rain fall. With Jehanna Hall still in need of a clean up, and civilians still in the forts-turned-shelter, we all decided to hide in the embassies again, with Gerik, Tethys, Saleh, Ewan, and Marisa joining us here in the Grado embassy. A good thing too, since Natasha had needed a lot of help with Joshua. Minor smoke inhalation, minor burns, major injuries, and severe exhaustion… That was just his physical injuries. Then there was the rest of our injuries and the sunburns. It was good to have extra help. Gods knew we needed it.

"Emma?" Amelia's voice drew me from my introspection, and I turned to see her skipping down the hall towards me. Though Natasha had done what she could to help soothe everyone's sunburns before focusing on Joshua's injuries, Amelia was still as red as her armor. Then again, I knew I wasn't much better. "Hey, sorry to bother," she began, somehow managing to hold onto some sort of cheer despite how tired her eyes were. "But uh…" She held up one of the sunburn balms we had and smiled slightly. "I got burned on my back, and it itches, but I can't reach it because everything is sore. Do you mind?"

"Yeah, I'll help," I reassured, biting back an urge to laugh for some reason. There was nothing funny about any of this, though maybe I was just laughing because it reminded me of how lucky I'd been. Thanks to being on Brynhildr, and because the dress I'd changed into after Queen Ismaire died had long sleeves, my burns were only really on my face and neck, which I could reach easily. "There's a room over here we can use."

"Thanks!" She giggled and followed me into the room. After looking around and discovering it was very empty, she just sat down on the ground and stripped off her shirt. When I sat down behind her, I saw that the strip on her back was basically between her hair and her shirt, though it surprisingly went a bit below. I guessed it was the angle, and the shirt slipping with all the fighting. "Ha, glad I found you. It _really_ itches."

"Well, there are others who could've helped." Carefully, I rubbed the balm over the sunburn, noticing the blisters bubbling up. I was tempted to pop them, but I remembered Gerik and Natasha said that it could make it worse if you did, so I held back. The last thing I wanted was to prolong her recovery. "Don't you share a room with Marisa tonight?"

"And technically Natasha, but I think Natasha is going to stay with Joshua." Amelia shrugged, squeaking as I got her neck. Clearly, she was ticklish. "But Marisa was playing with Ewan, and can be a little scary, so I wanted to find someone else. And I couldn't find Tethys, but Saleh said it would probably be best to not look for them, for some reason."

"Did he?" I wondered for a brief moment, before an idea occurred to me. But surely the two were too tired to have sex after a day like this. So, a different thought came to mind. "It could be that they're tending to each other's injuries."

"And they wouldn't want to be interrupted?"

"Depending on where the injuries are, it could reveal some sort of scar they're not comfortable showing people who aren't healers." Vaguely, I remembered Mom had a scar like that, on her back. I couldn't recall the story of how she got it, though. Something about protecting someone? Maybe? "It could also just be a feeling of vulnerability. It's one thing to let a healer tend to you, but mercenaries are used to employers trying to stab them in the back."

"Oh, I see."

"It could also just simply be that they're trying to sleep and after today, they might be a little hair-triggered with the weapons." I got the balm all over the sunburn and closed the jar before eyeing the sunburn warily. I was worried about those blisters. "You should probably get some gauze on it to shield it."

"Really?" She tugged her shirt back on and stood up. "Well, I'll go with what you say. I've never had a sunburn this bad. There's some in my room. Can you help me get it on?"

"Certainly."

It didn't take long to get her bandaged up of course, and Amelia settled down to sleep. I was tempted to go lay down myself, but instead, I decided to go check in on Saleh, just in case. I found him sitting in his room, performing Valega, so I waited for him to finish. Excalibur, looking as harmless as any book did, sat in front of him, firmly shut. I checked him over, noting the sunburns. He had his arms bandaged, likely to protect them much like I had Amelia bandage hers, and the skin of his nose was peeling. It was actually a little amusing, though I wasn't sure why. I felt like I was just looking for any excuse to laugh to try and deal with the day.

"What brings you here, Emma?" Saleh asked, opening his eyes. I wasn't surprised he knew I was there. "Is everything all right?"

"As far as I know," I replied, shrugging. I leaned against the doorframe, still studying him. I didn't see anything noticeably off, but Saleh was the type to hide behind a stoic mask. "I wanted the check in on your health. Because of Excalibur and all."

"Ah, that's kind of you." Saleh picked up Excalibur, studying the cover closely before dropping it into his lap. "It's a powerful tome. It required absolute concentration to maintain, and the incantation for casting is much shorter than one would expect, giving one a faster casting."

"It certainly seemed powerful. Cormag and I were nearly knocked out of the sky."

"I'm glad it was only nearly for you two. Princess Tana and Vanessa were, in fact, knocked down, due to how light the pegasi are, but thankfully, they hadn't been that high to begin with. I imagine that if you had been targeted directly, it would've ripped you apart, much like the others. The wind blades were as sharp as any sword, but they had the force of a hurricane behind them." He looked up at me and though his expression was as calm as ever, I got the impression he was even more serious than usual. "If I use it again, I believe we shall have a signal to make sure you four are safely on the ground, and to make sure our troops can pull back. I underestimated its strength. We were very lucky this time."

"We were and, for now, that's all that matters." I smiled reassuringly at him. "But that's not answering my question. How are you?"

"Ah, I suppose it isn't." He smiled back kindly, expression softening. "I am well, all things considered. I shall be paying close attention to my health, but I do not think I am suffering from anything besides bad sunburns, exhaustion, and a severe desire to never fight in the desert again."

"Yeah, I wasn't going to point it out, but your face is redder than my hair." I had to grin, and he actually laughed. "Do you have balm to help it heal?"

"I do. I believe Natasha managed to push some into all of our hands before retiring, and I know how to make it, so I shall do that before retiring." His smile fell back for stoicism, as was his normal. "How is Joshua?"

"Asleep. Thankfully." I hoped he'd be able to continue resting, but I wasn't sure if he would. Today was the sort of day where either you'd sleep through everything or you'd constantly wake up. "He'll heal. In time."

"The mental wounds will bleed fall longer, of course. This is not the homecoming he wanted, I'm sure."

"Not in the least." I wondered what part hurt the most: Queen Ismaire's death or Carlyle's betrayal. I knew I'd never be able to ask him. "How mad is Gerik at the reveal? Just for curiosity's sake."

"He's grumbling because he actually did suspect it, but he then decided that there was no way a crown prince would be a gambling, fussy, friendly guy who used his actual name and had no real disguise besides a common coloring and time."

"Audacity, thy name is Joshua."

"I fear Ewan shall use him as an excuse to pull more pranks."

"Remind him what it cost Joshua if he does." Joshua gained a lot, but he also lost a lot. And, honestly, I was fairly certain none of us were going to let him be alone for a while. I didn't think he was suicidal, but I was worried about him beating himself up too much. "Say, subject change, but who ended up with the Wind Sword? I never got to see."

"Marisa. It suited her fighting style better. With Joshua's permission, I think she hopes to continue borrowing it until the end of the war."

"I'm sure he'll let her." Though, I, at least, was appreciative of the word 'borrow'. It was Queen Ismaire's sword. It would always be hers. "Though, I do have to wonder if it has a different means to maintain because of the magic or…?"

"Oh, good, some people are still awake." Cormag walked up then, and I stepped inside the room so that he could poke his head in. "I was just checking outside, and I thought I saw some people trying to navigate through the rain," he explained. Saleh and I shared a look. His was stoic; mine was 'what the hell'. "Mind helping me check? Marisa and Ewan just went to bed, and Amelia wasn't answering when I knocked." Saleh and I exchanged another look and nodded. "Thanks. This way."

Confused as all hell, but unwilling to just let it go, Saleh and I found spare blankets for the three of us to use as makeshift umbrellas and headed out with Cormag. We quickly found the four he saw and brought them in, though all of us were annoyed, even Saleh. Why? Because the four were Innes, Tana, Eirika, and Ephraim. All of whom I had assumed would have the sense to _not go outside in this weather_.

"You are absolutely soaked!" I scolded, drying Tana's hair in the main hall. Saleh was helping Eirika, while Cormag helped both Innes and Ephraim, since they had much shorter hair. I'd originally been helping Eirika, but Tana's hair was much heavier and required a lot more work to dry, so Saleh and I switched. "What the hell were you doing outside in the first place?"

"Well, some children were lost?" Tana answered for everyone. She shrugged, unbothered, and squeaked when I accidentally tickled her neck. Her hair was incredibly heavy. I felt like I was lifting weights. "So, we escorted them home and then got lost?"

"You should've just let them stay with you lot!" I paused as a sudden, but obvious, thought occurred to me. "Wait, hold on, you guys were in two different embassies."

"Yeah, there were multiple children out. We ran into each other and managed to get even more lost. But, hey, we did make it to the right district!"

"Seriously?!" I gave all four of them dirty looks. Eirika and Innes had the grace to look sheepish. Ephraim just shrugged, smiling when I glowered. "Honestly…"

"We couldn't leave the children!"

"You could've literally brought them into the embassy, like I just said."

"Their families would've worried!"

"And _you_ could've drowned."

"Gods almighty, why is everything so lively suddenly?" All of us froze and awkwardly fidgeted when Joshua walked into the room, a sleepy Natasha at his side. He was grey with exhaustion, too tired to hide how pained he was, though the pain was soon masked by incredulousness when he saw our four wet royals being dried off like little kids. "I thought you were going to be staying in your respective embassies," he began slowly. He glanced at Natasha, to confirm he was seeing what he thought he was seeing, and returned his attention to them. "Why are you lot here looking like drowned rats?"

"At least say we're cats or something," Tana grumbled. Still, she smiled gently at him, before squeaking as I roughly rubbed at her hair to try and get more water off it. "Well, we were outside, and we got lost, sooo…"

"Natasha, can you check them for head injuries?" Joshua looked so done. He even facepalmed. "I can't think of any other reason why they thought going out in this weather was a good idea." He let his hand fall to fix the four royals with a serious look. "And while you're checking, I'm going to give you all a lovely lecture of all the things that could've happened. Like drowning. I've many stories of people who drowned because they thought it was a good idea to walk through the city during a deluge like this."

Well, this was going to be fun.

* * *

After Natasha gave them a once over, and Joshua gave them the third degree with a lecture, we all tried to figure out rooming situation. Thankfully, though, that proved to be very painless. Tana and Eirika decided that they'd just share with me, while Innes and Ephraim agreed to share a room together. There was a bit of shuffling, a bit of 'here, get out of those wet clothes and get into a bath, damn it', and a bit of just being amused, exasperated, and grateful that after everything that happened today, this was the worst we had to deal with now. In all of the mess, though, I realized that I was bleeding through my bandages, and with all the girls fast asleep by that point, I decided to just try and change the bandages myself. I quickly came to regret that decision, though.

"This was a much better idea in theory," I muttered, growling in frustration. I had to change a bandage on my upper arm, which meant twisting oddly and trying to wrap and tie off the bandage with one hand and my teeth. My neck and shoulders ached, and I thought I reopened a stomach injury. "Much better in theory." I groaned as I lost my grip and the bandages fell off my injury, ruining another bit. "Gods… damn it." Resisting the urge to sigh, I tore off the ruined bits. "Okay, let's try this again."

"Hello?" A knock on the door made me glance up, but I returned to trying to fix my bandage with one hand and my teeth. "Is anyone in there?"

"Wait a moment." Even to my ears, that sounded like a mush of syllables. "Don't-" And, unfortunately, the mush of syllables sounded like some sort of assent as the door opened to reveal Ephraim, wearing some of Joshua's clothes, hair still damp from his bath. While I was sitting in an odd position, attempting to change my bandages, while only in my bra and a skirt. "Hi."

"Hi." His face went red and he immediately closed the door again. "I'm so sorry! I thought…"

"It's fine." I gave up on the bandages and let it fall loose. Then I winced as I looked down and saw I'd been right. The stomach injury I'd just bandaged had already bled through. "Even I thought it sounded off, and I was the one who said it."

"Still, I should've asked if I could come in. I was just wondering because of the candles and the room didn't seem to be used, but..."

"It's fine." I looked at all the bandaging I still had to do and sighed. "Actually, Ephraim, come in. I need help."

"If you're certain?" Cautiously, he opened the door again, still a little red. His blush faded, though, when I held up a roll of bandages. "Ah, your injuries…"

"They're reopened, and I'm failing at bandaging them on my own." I smiled sheepishly at him. "Since I also need to get balm on my sunburns and actually do plan on sleeping at some point, do you mind helping me out?"

"No, of course not." He glanced around the room, likely to check if there was some place to sit. However, there was only the floor. This was one of the rooms we cleared out solely for storage, or a place to hide, and thus, it had nothing in it. "Do you mind if I ask why Natasha isn't help you?"

"I went to ask, but she's fast asleep and, more importantly, so is Joshua." I shrugged, and passed him the bandages as he sat down next to me. "It's been a very rough day for him and he's far more fragile than he likes letting on, especially right now. I didn't want to wake either of them."

"'Very rough' sounds like an understatement."

"Sadly, they are the only words I have for 'learning that your uncle figure and role model betrayed your family', 'killing said uncle figure in a duel', 'reuniting with the mother you have not seen in ten years', 'unable to do anything but hold said mother as she dies slowly from blood loss', 'burying your mother and remembering how your father died', 'someone setting your home on fire', 'desperately trying to save people and the city', 'learning that the one responsible for most of everything is an old friend and comrade', and 'killing that old friend even if you hate them terribly'." The more I listed off, the more my heart ached and the more I felt like crying. "And that's not even going into what's to come. He's now the King of Jehanna. He's the prince who hid, and who Jehanna placed all their hopes on. I don't have any words to encompass all of that."

"'Extremely' rough would still be more accurate." He nudged my arm up to have a better angle and started bandaging me up. "I'm guessing Eirika and Tana are asleep?"

"As are Amelia, Tethys, and Marisa. I checked. I couldn't bear waking any of them up."

"So, instead, you put yourself through discomfort." He finished with my arm quickly and moved to my other injuries. They weren't too many, thankfully. They were just inconveniently placed. "I feel like that's a metaphor for something."

"Perhaps." I shifted to grab the balm for my sunburns and put it on myself, mostly to have something to do. "You're good at bandaging."

"I used to bandage up my own injuries whenever I went out and got into trouble." He paused when he started bandaging my stomach, his fingertips tracing over the scar from Genarog. His eyes flitted over to the scar on my arm, from Evaicrag, and I half-thought he was going to say something. But, instead, he simply stared at them for a moment before returning to bandaging, not saying a word. He paused again when he bandaged my leg and saw the scar on my calf from Genarog's claw, but, just as before, he didn't speak.

I remained silent as well, not quite sure what to say or do, especially once I finished rubbing the balm on my sunburns. The empty room had nothing to use as a conversation starter, not even a window to use as a convenient jump to the weather. There was the thunder that rattled everything, but honestly, I'd gotten used to it by now. So long as nothing fell and nothing leaked, I really had no complaints about the weather.

He finished bandaging me up and began checking the bandages, to make sure they laid flat and were tied off properly. As he did, I frowned as I noticed a bit of red on his sleeves. "Ephraim, were you injured earlier?" I asked quietly. Then I decided that was a stupid question. _Everyone_ had been injured. That was the nature of battle. "Never mind. Give me your arm."

"My arm?" he asked. He held up both and gave me a curious look. "Which one?"

"Right." I snagged his hand and pushed up the sleeve, confirming what I'd suspected. He was injured, rather badly, and it was bleeding through. The bandage was already more red than white. "Here. Let me change yours."

"…Thank you." He tugged off his shirt and rolled up his pant legs, and I had to fight the urge to wince. He was covered in bandages, and almost all of them had red blotches. "I was hoping they wouldn't be so bad."

"It's better to be safe than sorry. The last thing we need is waking up to you bleeding out in your sleep." Carefully, I began removing the bandages, noting the jagged lines and the mottled burns. He'd gotten hit quite a few times, clearly. "I don't think I've seen you get this injured before."

"Well, I don't normally do back to back fights." He flinched as my hand passed over his chest, right over a particularly bad burn mark. "Due to not having to deal with a horse, and wearing fairly decent armor, I had to take up Gilliam's normal job of guarding the less armored soldiers like Lute and Artur, and it's not one I'm suited for. I don't have the defensive talent for it."

"My, my, something you're bad at." I smiled teasingly at him, mostly to keep myself from getting sad. Some of his wounds were infected, so I focused on cleaning them. "Still, you performed admirably. Last I heard, our little group suffered no deaths. The plan you and Innes crafted was superb."

"Insults and compliments. You keep me on my toes more than our enemies."

"To be fair, our enemies are so far ahead of us that we'll continuously reacting to their traps." My smile became sympathetic when he flinched again. "Sorry. It's infected."

"It's fine. Clearly, I should've had someone look at them."

"Why didn't you?"

"Everyone was exhausted. It's been a long day."

"That's true." I continued cleaning and checking his injuries, vaguely remembering that the Renasi Embassy didn't have any healers stationed there. Artur and Lute were _learning_ staves of course, but while I was fairly certain Artur was skilled enough, there likely wouldn't have been a lot of staves over there. Having his injuries double-checked would've required a lot more than simply 'the healer heals'. With all that being said, though… "You still should've had someone check them over. Quite a few people would be saddened by your death, you know. Myself included."

"…Well, that's…" Ephraim looked away, up at the ceiling. "I can't think of a reply that doesn't come off as dismissive."

"Then perhaps a change of subject?" One came to mind immediately. "What are we going to do once we leave Jehanna?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, our how journey here has changed a lot. It went from 'to Rausten' to 'Jehanna and then Rausten', but there's no reason to go to Rausten, is there? L'arachel has already conveyed the warning for us."

"That's going to be something we work on once we've recovered a bit. Though ultimately, we'll end up in Frelia to plan our the next steps. That just seems like the best, given that Frelia is the best off besides Rausten."

"There's multiple routes back to Frelia, isn't there?"

"Yes. The route we took, going to Rausten and then sailing to Carcino, going through Grado, and going through Renais."

"I see." Finished cleaning his injuries, I began bandaging them carefully. I noticed that he didn't have too many sunburns, mostly just on his face. It made sense; his normal clothing covered up a lot. "Did Eirika tell you about Lyon?"

"She did. It was one of the things we were discussing before we saw the lost children."

"One of them?"

"We talked about our father, among other things. Seeing Joshua having to say goodbye really…" He looked down and I caught a brief glimpse of tears. He closed his eyes before any could fall, though. "It reminded me that I didn't get to say goodbye because of my own recklessness."

"…Well, Eirika didn't get much of a goodbye either, from what I understand." I wasn't sure what else to say. I didn't get to say 'goodbye' to my parents. The idea of being able to wish loved ones farewells was… it sat oddly in my head. I didn't even really get a 'goodbye' with Monica. I instead pleaded for her to hold on just a few more seconds, so that Orson could reach her, but... "If he was like you, I'm sure any attempt at goodbye would've been very awkward anyway."

"Mmm, true. He was always bad with goodbyes. I do wish I had a better last conversation with him. Though, I at least got to tell him that I loved him. Eirika was gathered up while protesting leaving and didn't get to say even that much." He sighed and opened his eyes to smile bitterly. "It's just… I don't even know."

"I understand." I wasn't sure if I did, but I thought that perhaps I understood enough. His soft smile was worth it. "But they always say that the dead watch over the living. I think they're just stories to placate those left behind, but hey, they could be true. And even if not, there's nothing wrong with taking comfort from a nice story."

"That's cynical."

"That's just the truth as I see it." I looked up at him briefly before returning my attention to bandaging. "Ah, we got off topic. The whole point of me bringing up Lyon had been the information he gave us. About how we might have an opportunity to take back Renais."

"We do. And I want to. Desperately." His eyes took a determined glint to them. "I want to save my home. I failed it. I have to rectify that mistake, if I am to ever reclaim my people's trust."

"A valiant goal." I nudged his arms up so that I could bandage his torso. "Well, regaining Renais would get us the central part of Magvel again, and keep Grado isolated. Morale would also be boosted, and there have to be some supplies and soldiers that survived. But do we have the troops to take it?"

"That'll be one of the things to discuss and find out before we decide our path back to Frelia." Ephraim smiled bitterly. "We also have to consider if we can _hold_ it."

"True." A thought occurred to me, though. "They're after the sacred stones. If, say, Renais's was no longer in the country…"

"Are you suggesting using the sacred stone as _bait_?" That startled a laugh out of him, and he grinned. "That… could be fun. It's perfectly insane, but it's a fun idea."

"Or at least a good copy. Having a good copy has protected it so far. Maybe a second one can protect it again, and the country with it." I shrugged. "Of course, that'll put you and Eirika in even more danger, but it might be a way to guard Renais, if we want to take that route. But they might decide they want the route to Rausten enough to retake it. Or push through Jehanna again."

"Yeah, Jehanna simply can't fend off another assault. Not as it is. But, we can always distract them." Ephraim's grin grew. "We could attack Grado head-on. They've lost two Generals, and quite a few troops at this point. If we launch an assault, they'll be split again, which wouldn't be tacticially sound."

"You'll have to check if Frelia has the troops. They lost a lot in the siege, and no matter how long it feels like to us, I doubt they had time to replace all the fallen."

"Of course. But we do have Rausten's troops to help fill in the gaps, and perhaps some of the mercenaries here will hire on. And maybe we can pick up some more from Renais and Carcino."

"Carcino is likely still working through their troubles thanks to their little civil war, but they might be able to give us some proper supplies. Renais's… I know I brought it up earlier, but that'll depend on how many survived the fall."

"True." His grin finally faded for a sigh. "Ah, it's all dependent on information we don't have, yet. But I'm tired of traps. I'd at least like to feel like I'm making progress."

"Assuming, of course, that attacking them isn't a trap."

"If it is, we'll show them why trying that sort of a trap was a mistake. We might've fallen for each one they've set so far, but we've also made it out of each one. Hell, with the exception of Frelia's siege, we've actually made it out _better_ than before the trap got us."

"That's true." I finished tying off the last bandage, on his arm, and smoothed it out before checking the others. "Hey, with Lyon…"

"Yes? Was there more than Eirika didn't say?"

"Well, it's something I don't think she noticed." I frowned at the bandage on his chest and fixed the knot. It helped hide my discomfort. I still remembered that uneasy feeling. I still remembered thinking he was just a ghost. "He seemed surprised when I told him how highly you thought of him."

"He… did?" Ephraim's expression blanked, and his voice became very small suddenly. "I thought that I… ugh, clearly, I need to have a long talk with him. If he's surprised, then I wasn't conveying my admiration well enough."

"You adore him, huh?"

"He's my best friend. He always will be."

"…Well, it could also be that he thought you two might've lost that admiration." I wasn't quite sure that's how it was, but I felt the need to point it out. "He was very nervous, so it could've just been fear that the war, and his perceived weakness, cost him your friendship."

"Never. And when I see him next, I'll let him know."

"See that you do. I'm sure he'll appreciated." I looked up to smile at him. "So..." And whatever I was going to say faded away because, all at once, I became keenly aware of just how close we were.

Because I'd been checking the bandages on his chest, our faces were close enough for our noses to brush against each other. As I continued staring at him, my heart pounded and my breath became a little ragged. He stared back, not moving away in the slightest. I could his heartbeat quicken under my hands. I felt his breath become shallower against my face. His warm hand rested on my waist, like he was steadying me. My face burned with a blush, making my sunburn prickle in pain, and I wondered, almost desperately, if he was blushing too. I thought he might've been, but his own sunburn made it hard to see.

I almost kissed him. I really did. But, no matter how much I wanted to, after so long of a day, I… it wasn't a good time. It wasn't. So, I broke eye contact briefly, and then rested my head against his shoulder. "Sorry," I whispered. My voice was shaky. "I'm… I'm exhausted."

"It's been a long day," he replied. His voice was raspy. "Do you want to get back to your room?"

"I don't want to move for a little bit, if that's okay."

"Yeah. It is." His arms slipped around me to hug me reassuringly. "Ha… you went into all of this knowing about Joshua's heritage, didn't you?"

"I did. Natasha and I were the only ones who knew. So, I knew…" My voice cracked and I found myself crying. Yes, it would've been a bad time to kiss him. Everything was just… it had just been too long of a day. "I knew how scared he was. I knew how worried. And while it's not the absolute worse scenario…"

"It's not the best, by any means." He carefully tightened his hug on me, and just held me as I sobbed. "No wonder you weren't sleeping well."

"S-sorry…"

"Not your fault. He didn't want people to know. I'm just sad we couldn't at least give him a more private goodbye."

"Yeah…"

After that, I just kept on crying, and Ephraim held me. Even though he had to also be incredibly tired, he held me as I cried. Cried for Joshua. Cried for Queen Ismaire. Cried for my own pain and helplessness. Cried for… a lot of things. I just needed a good cry, and he let me. I was incredibly grateful.

* * *

After crying, Ephraim escorted me to the room I shared with Eirika and Tana and left to go to bed himself. After he left, I changed into my nightclothes and went to sleep. However, at some random point during the 'night', I woke up, wondering why the hell I was awake. I glanced around, looking for what might've been 'out of place' long enough for my unconsciousness go 'what the hell up, you big idiot'. I found it after a moment; Tana wasn't in the room. Checking that Eirika was fast asleep, I pushed myself up and, yawning, headed out the door and down the hall to hunt for her. I didn't make it very far, though. At least, it didn't feel like I'd walked for any significant point of time before I ran into Joshua.

He stood by one of the giant windows, lit only by whatever bits of lightning flashed outside, watching the rain. He glanced over at me when I approached, though, and frowned. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" he chided. I didn't point out that he should be as well. I was certain he already knew it. "What has you up?"

"Tana's not in the room," I answered. He nodded, not needing any more of an explanation. He knew me too well. "What has you awake, then? Nightmares?"

"Some." He looked back out the window, like the rain had all the answers. It didn't, of course. "I keep dreaming of when Father collapsed, vomiting blood. I keep seeing Mother as she slowly bleeds out. It blends together in my head, and I'm the helpless child again."

"I see." I understood. In the days after Monica's death, I dreamed of her suffocating while I was unable to do anything. "That's only some?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "I dream of Caellach. Of the old days."

"That's the general you killed. Your old mercenary partner."

"Yeah."

"You knew him for a while."

"I did. We met during the Etna Revolt. It was the first job for both of us. I can't really remember how we met. I just knew that by the end of it, we both knew each other's names, and we both got our pay together. We worked together ever since, right up until he went proper."

"You were friends, huh?"

"As much of friends as Caellach got." He chuckled bitterly. "He was always talking about moving up. Becoming king. Some days, I thought it was just ambition. Other days, I thought it was because of the slaughter that was the Etna Revolt, a bunch of people massacred just because a noble decided he didn't want to be ruled by a queen."

"It was bad, huh? Gerik winced and poured you more wine."

"A lot of people died. Not a lot of people cared. I remember using the corpses of my fellows as shields against arrows. I remember being so covered in blood that I forgot the color of my own skin." He rested a hand against the window, and his eyes darted to it. I knew he saw the blood even now. "I almost went home after it. I only didn't because of Caellach. He got angry and spiteful, declaring that he'd be the best. Seeing that spirit invigorated my resolve. We fought beside each other for eight years. Then he left, tired of the desert, and I remained, to continue learning what I could to rule that same desert."

"And then you met again here."

"Yep." He tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Got to love the mercenary life, huh?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We made our choices like grownups."

"I'm not sorry he's dead, Joshua." I made my words as firm as possible. "I'm sorry you hurt so much because of it."

"Well..."

"Joshua?" Thankfully for both of us, Natasha's voice echoed down the hall and stopped the conversation cold. "Joshua, where are you?" she called. I could barely see her in the distance, and thought it odd. Joshua's room wasn't too far from mine. Then again, I could've walked farther than I thought. "Joshua?"

"Over here, Natasha," Joshua called. He let his hand fall to his side, smiling slightly. "Damn, I hoped she wouldn't wake up."

"She probably sensed you were getting too serious," I half-teased. I did frown at him, though. "Hey, did you walk around or something? I didn't think we were that far from the rooms."

"I did. But don't tell her that."

"I'm sure she'll figure it out anyway, brother." Still, I smiled warmly when Natasha joined us, resolving to not say anything until she did piece it together. "Hello, Natasha!"

"Hi?" she replied, frowning worriedly. Her eyes peered at our faces, likely seeing all the exhaustion and pain we both tried to hide. "You two should be asleep. What are you doing awake?"

"I wanted to see the rain a bit, Natasha," Joshua answered. He smiled, but it was pained. "I'm sorry to worry you."

"You could've woken me up."

"You're tired, though."

"As if you're not." She gently touched his face, and he caught her hand to kiss it. "There was a window in the room, you know. What were you trying to find, walking about?"

"That's..."

"Told you she'd figure it out," I joked, unable to help it. He gave me a dirty look, while Natasha looked confused. "Sibling thing, Natasha." I shrugged, still smiling. "Anyway, I'll leave you two alone to have cuddle time or whatever you need. Tana wasn't in the room, Natasha, so I'm up looking for her."

"Try not to stay up too late, Emma," Natasha replied. She took Joshua's arm and tugged him towards her. Though Joshua glanced back at the window, he didn't fight her. "I know you're trying to hold strong, but today was a long day for you too."

"I'm just going to make sure Tana isn't helping little kids outside again." I grinned as Natasha laughed and Joshua rolled his eyes. "I'll head back to bed as soon as I'm certain she's okay."

"Mmm… All right then. You are the best patient. Unlike someone." She gave Joshua a dirty look, and he smiled sheepishly. "Come along, you. You're badly injured, on top of everything else."

Joshua meekly tried to defend himself, and I bit back a bunch of laughter as I walked down the hall. My laughter faded quickly as I checked the halls and all the 'spare rooms', only for there to be no Tana in sight. Part of me wondered if she'd just gone on a walk and I'd missed her while running about looking for her, so I almost went back to the room, but decided, on a whim, to check on Brynhildr in the stables. There, to my surprise, I did actually find her. She was with Cormag, helping him settle Genarog in a new stable. For some reason.

"What the hell?" I asked, glancing around. Both of them looked up curious, but neither really stopped what they were doing. "What happened?"

"Some water seeped into Genarog's stable," Cormag explained. He went back to soothing Genarog, while Tana tried to wring out some blankets. "Tana was up and staring out the window, so I asked her for help checking all the stables."

"Any other issues?"

"Nope, and we've got the leak plugged. It's just a matter of drying to dry out poor Genarog."

"And his blankets!" Tana added with a laugh. She made a face as she held it up, still dripping. "Not working very well, though."

"Well, that's…" I began, frowning. I went over to Brynhildr's stall and saw the extra blankets I kept with her were safely tucked behind her, and she made no move to offer them. She even pretended to be asleep. "Brynhildr." Reluctantly, she lifted her head and growled. I just stared at her with the best no-nonsense look I could managed, and before long, she sighed gustily and, with extreme reluctance, picked up one of her extra blankets with her teeth and threw it over the stall wall at Genarog's face. "Thank you." I looked over at Cormag and Tana, now struggling to get the blanket off Genarog's head and around him. "For the record, I give Brynhildr extras."

"Not sure she'd give them without you asking her," Cormag commented. He climbed onto Genarog to dislodge the blanket from one of Genarog's head spikes. "And I'm not fighting a wyvern for anything."

"Tana probably could've." I smiled at her, and she winked back, tucking the blanket around Genarog. Since Brynhildr was larger, it covered Genarog nicely. "Tana, try not to be too long, but unless you two need an extra pair of hands, I think I'll try to get back to sleep."

"Should be fine at this point. Thanks."

"No worries." I waved them both goodbye, having to bite back a strange fit of laughter. I wasn't even sure why I was amused. I just was.

When I returned to the room, I found a very confused Eirika looking around, likely wondering why the hell she was alone in the room. "Oh, there you are," she murmured, smiling sleepily at me. "Anything wrong?"

"Nah," I reassured. I settled back under my blankets, enjoying the warmth. "Tana woke up, not sure why since I forgot to ask, and Cormag needed help in the stables. There was a leak."

"That sounds like something 'wrong', you know."

"Well, it's not a life or death thing, and they have it under control." I curled up and poked her side. "What woke you up?"

"…I dreamed of my father." Eirika pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I dreamed of when I last saw him."

"Ah."

"Yeah." She sighed gustily. "Part of me feels jealous that Joshua got a 'proper' goodbye. The rest of me is absolutely heartbroken that he had to say goodbye at all."

"It's rough."

"Yeah." A bit of an awkward silence fell, but it was just because we both knew there wasn't anything else we really _could_ say. No words would change anything. "She smiled so happily at seeing him."

"Well, she hadn't had any word about him for ten years. She had to go on faith alone that he was still alive."

"Like how I was, when Ephraim was missing."

"Yep."

"Like you were, when Orson went missing."

"Yep." And, like me, Joshua reunited with family, only to find they'd gone mad. Unlike me, he also came back to family dying. It hurt so much. "Well, bright side is…"

"We're not dead. He got to see his mother one last time. Those are good things. I just wish there was less bad to go with them."

"Me too." Sadly, though, it felt like all of our 'victories' had to come at a cost. "Want a funny story?"

"Yes."

We shared every little funny thing we could think of, from things around camp to things in our childhood. While we chatted, Tana returned from the stables and she threw in her own stories. We talked and talked, and laughed and laughed, before passing out in the middle of some story about Innes and chickens. It was a long day. It was a long day. I was glad for it to finally be over. I was infinitely glad we somehow managed to end it on a laugh. It made me feel like I was 'winning', though I had no idea 'what' I was winning.

It was weird. But I'd take it.

* * *

 _Notes on Rennac:_

 _Scion of a wealthy Carcino family, he became a mercenary-thief for more gold at less work and ended up working for L'arachel. A surprisingly talented ballroom dancer._

 _Not very good in outright combat, but his sneaking and stealth skills are topnotch. He's best suited as a support unit, freeing up Colm._

 _Despite not really getting along with L'arachel, or having similar motives, he sticks with her for reasons unknown. I think her energy weighs too much on him, but admittedly, he doesn't seem to be trying very hard to escape._

* * *

Author's Notes: So, notes for two chapters time. First things first. Yes, in game, Valter is also in this chapter and you kill him here. In game, you also get three units during this chapter (Ephraim, Duessel, and Knoll if you went with Eirika's route). However, since we're also doing Ephraim's route, Duessel and Knoll will be recruited as they are there and Valter still has some parts to play in the plot. So, no Valter here. He will get his own chapter at the end of Ephraim's route.

Audhulma and Excalibur are the first of the legendary weapons you receive in game. Audhulma is more or less tailored especially for Joshua (as it's made so that he can wield it with no speed penalty at base constitution) and gives a +5 to Resistance in game. Excalibur, the legendary anima tome, gives a +5 to speed. There is little to no lore to the weapons beyond 'they were used to destroy the bad guy', unlike the Elibean legendary weapons (which, in canon, nearly destroyed everything), so I wanted to add a bit to them and the weight of using them.

Rennac is recruited in chapter 14 no matter the route and you can do this one of two ways: talk to him with the main lord and pay him or have L'arachel talk to him and get him for free. In-game, you don't obtain the Wind Sword in this chapter (in fact, you only get it through Creature Campaign post-game), but we're having a little bit of fun here. Carlyle is normally a very annoying boss, due to having a magic sword and him being a swordmaster with high avoid on a throne, which boosts said avoid. ' _Wind Beneath My Wings'_ is a completely made up thing (though I'm sure there's some song by the name). Joshua's 'secondary' name in the previous chapter (Joshua Ishmael) is because Ismaire's Japanese name is 'Ishmael', so it's homage to her.

Next Chapter – Interlude, Zada


	25. Interlude - Zada

Interlude – Zada

* * *

 _Jehanna still stands. We killed a general of Grado, and Jehanna still stands. It is bleeding, wounded, but it didn't fall. It's rather impressive, considering everything. Of course, it doesn't mean that this is a victory. Queen Ismaire is dead, for instance. Jehanna's sacred stone was broken. All of us are exhausted. I would call this Grado's win, but at least we made them pay for it dearly._

 _When the rain cleared up, a couple days after that very long day, Cormag and I flew patrols to see if Grado really did leave. We found a lot of them had drowned in the flooding, and those that survived ran like hell. Part of me felt sad, but the rest of me is relieved. We can rest, just for a little bit. It's a rest we all need desperately._

* * *

I walked slowly and carefully through the halls of Jehanna Hall, carrying my tray as if it was made of glass, mostly because there were two drinks and a plate of food on it that I really didn't want to fall. When the rain ended, and the floodings stopped, the people of the city threw themselves into cleaning the place, meaning we all moved in here, for easier access, since the mercenaries and the civilians had many questions for us. And then there were the tailors. Every single person in our little group had fittings and new clothes made, partially to help us deal with the heat and partially because ours were getting a little threadbare from all the abuse we'd put them through. My new clothes ended up being based off of Queen Ismaire's clothes, both her practical wear for fighting and her looser, flowy stuff like what I wore now, long skirts with high slits up the side and light long-sleeved shirts with trailing sleeves. Wonderfully comfortable given the heat, though it was certainly more expensive than anything I wore before the war. Same with the new boots I'd gotten, knee-high and with a bit of a heel, much like riding boots. I felt like a princess, truthfully, and it added a bit to my nerves as I made my way to Joshua's study. I felt like I had to somehow live up to the feeling, and that wasn't something I knew how to do.

When I reached the study, with everything still thankfully intact, I walked in without knocking. I had his permission to do so, one of the three people he allowed. Natasha, Gerik, and me. Natasha and me because we were Joshua's family, and Gerik was helping him clear the Guild of corruption and the like. Because, of course, despite it only being a week since everything happened, Joshua was neck-deep in paperwork. I worried he was using the work as a way to escape grief, but I also knew that others more qualified were keeping an eye on him, so I just tried to be the supportive little sister. And hoped _desperately_ that I wouldn't fail at it, like I had with Orson.

"Time for a meal," I half-sang to catch his attention, setting the tray down on the corner of the desk so that I could pointedly place a plate of food right on some papers he was working on. I also set the utensils on top of his spare pens. "And some tea. I know you'd probably want something different, but the tea is on Natasha's orders."

"Meaning it's got some sort of medicine hidden in it," Joshua sighed. Still he smiled up at me and did put down his pen to take the mug. "Ah, the new clothes finished then?

"Yep, all of us are wearing the brand new clothes, and are very happy for it."

"They suit you."

"Do they?" I looked down at the clothes and smiled. Regardless of how nervous I felt, I did like the cut and I did like how I looked in them. "Well, they're perfect for this weather."

"I'd hope so, since we've had over 800 years worth of time to adapt clothing to said weather." He sipped the tea and made a face. "Ugh, there is definitely medicine in this. Bitter as all hell."

"Which is why I got you some water too." I carefully set the glass on one of the few places not covered in papers. "But tea first."

"Yes, yes." He studied the mug, likely calculating how much there was, and whimpered. "Ugh… why does medicine have to taste bad?"

"To deter dependency." As always, I was tempted to ask just what the medicine was for, but I didn't. I figured it might've been for some infection he'd picked up, considering the number of times he reopened his injury, or maybe with everything going on, he'd managed to get himself sick. If I was was wrong, well… Natasha knew what she was doing. "But I am under specific instructions to make sure you drink _all_ of it."

"Ugh…" Joshua pouted up at me before sighing and taking a huge gulp of the tea. "Your sunburn seems to have finally cleared up."

"Yep. I didn't even freckle. Unlike Tana, Neimi, and Amelia." A week of careful tending had led to us all mostly recovering from the fighting finally. Though some, like Joshua, were still dealing with injuries. That wound Carlyle inflicted on his side just refused to heal. "How are you?"

"Hmm? I'm fine."

"Sure." I brushed the hair out of his face and studied him. He did a good job hiding it, but I could see the dark circles under his eyes, and how gaunt he was. He wasn't sleeping still. "Well, I brought you food. I thought it might help take the taste of the medicine out of your mouth."

"Yay, you're the best." He downed the rest of the tea, and pulled the plate a little closer to him, using his fork to poke at it curiously. "Is this a fruit omelet? With dates and figs? I'm surprised you got the cooks to make a Renasi dish."

"Er… well… I didn't." I fidgeted a bit with my hands, nervous again. "I made it."

"You did?" He gave me an incredulous look. "They _let_ you? They wouldn't let me even grab a bit of bread."

"I bullied them into it, and they gave up when they realized I'm far more stubborn than they are." I scowled at him. "Go ahead and eat, brother. Like I said, I made it just for you."

"Sure, sure. I don't know why you're nervous. I've eaten your cooking before." He took a big bite and smiled warmly, humming in delight. "And, what do you know! It's delicious. Like all your other things. Seriously, why were you nervous? You're an amazing cook. That's why we have you and Neimi cook all the time."

"Well, it's a dish I haven't made in… oh, gods, over two years now, and it's with fruit I haven't used before." I smiled and made myself relax, clasping my hands in front of me to try and hold them still. "The family story goes that whenever Father was back home, he would make fruit omelets for the family. When he died, Mother would make them whenever Monica or I needed a little pick-me-up meal, because we associated with so strongly with 'family' and 'warmth'. When she died, Monica and I kept up the tradition. Whenever one of us was particularly sad, the other would make it." Hers were always better, though. I'd loved them. "But, like I said, I haven't made it in two years. However, I also thought you'd need a little pick-me-up too, considering everything, so I did my best."

"…" Joshua stared at me for a moment, apparently in shock, before he stood up suddenly and hugged me tightly. "Thanks, petal. Really, that's…"

"You just promise to be careful and to not push yourself too much." I leaned into him, hugging him as tightly as I dared. I was very worried about his lingering wounds. "I lost one brother to grief. I'd rather not lose a second. But, so long as you truly are fine, I won't push, okay?"

"Thank you, petal." He kissed the top of my head before resting his cheek against it. "I am doing fine. Mostly."

"You're not sleeping."

"Well, no, I'm not, but I do get some. And I do make sure to take breaks. I just need something to do or I freeze up."

"I figured." I stepped back and poked his cheek, smiling and hiding my worries. Most of them were simply being terrified I'd lose him like I lost Orson anyway. "Make sure you eat all of it, okay? I'll be by later to get the dishes."

"No, I'll actually handle that for my break." He ruffled my hair and I made a face. "But yes, I'll make sure to eat all of it."

"Okay." Not really having more to say, I simply smiled again and left the room, shutting the door behind me to give him privacy. I lingered a bit, still worried, but I reminded myself that I trusted him to watch his health. So, I made myself walk away, heading to the balcony nearby. It had the best view of the city, at least in my opinion.

I hadn't had the time to really appreciate it before we moved into Jehanna hall, but Zada was a beautiful city of reds, yellows, and whites. Though most of the buildings also had black decorations, ribbons and banners mostly, to mourn not only King Raphael, but also Queen Ismaire. The people grieved for her bitterly. They reeled from Carlyle's shocking betrayal. And yet, despite that, there was something hopeful to it all, as everyone ran about doing their normal daily routines. They received some much-needed rain, enough that the Vrep was almost at its normal levels for this time of the year, and Joshua had returned after years of waiting. They believed that the future would be better. It made me worry all the more, though, because I feared their expectations weren't quite letting Joshua grieve the way he wanted, and needed. But he made his choices, so I'd just be there for him, as much as I could.

"Oh, Emma." Innes's voice dragged me from my thoughts, and I turned to see him walking towards the balcony, some papers in hand. "I'm not sure why it's a surprise to see you here," he commented, smiling slightly. He was a bit pale, like he hadn't slept much. I had a feeling most of our 'leaders' weren't getting the sleep they needed. "I suppose I expected you to have gone with Eirika on her market trip."

"She's with L'arachel, Neimi, and Amelia," I replied. I'd been invited, but I'd opted instead to make that fruit omelet for Joshua and to make sure his medicine got to him. I really did think he needed that pick-me-up. "If those papers are something for Joshua, do you mind waiting a bit? I just dropped off a meal for him."

"Yeah, it's not immediate, just the most current information on Grado's movements." He walked onto the balcony too, studying me closely. "Jehannan clothing suits you."

"That's the second time in less than an hour I've heard that. I suppose it must be very true."

"Well, at least from another's point of view. The sleeves will get in the way of shooting a bow, though."

"I've much more practical clothing for fighting. We're just not expecting a fight." I nodded to where he normally wore a chest-guard and an archer's glove for emphasis. Instead, he wore a simple long-sleeves shirt and pants, with a sleeveless surcoat over it. All new clothes from the tailors. "Do you mind if I ask about the information?"

"I don't. It's mostly unchanged. Grado seems to still be deciding whether or not to try and gobble up the desert again." He thumbed through the papers, eyes narrowing. "The more interesting, and surprisingly, bit of news is that it seems Prince Lyon's information was very accurate."

"So, Orson is leaving Renais to rot, and there are next to no soldiers except in the capital itself." I closed my eyes briefly. It hurt my heart to think of Orson. He'd wanted to become a knight to save people, and yet now he… "I'm sure Eirika and Ephraim will be happy to hear that."

"I can hear the 'I told you so's already." He sighed gustily and I had to laugh. "What do you think?"

"About Renais?" I looked back over the city, thinking on it. "Well, my first instinct is relief. I'm relieved that Lyon told the truth and that Eirika and Ephraim don't have to deal with another betrayal. I'm relieved that my home country might be freed, and that we can get a much needed morale boost. Not to mention potential soldiers and supplies."

"And your second instinct?"

"Well, after thinking about it, I can't help but wonder if it's another trap. Something to lure Eirika and Ephraim back to Renais in the hopes of either killing them for the bracelets or…"

"Or to snag the sacred stone after they've retrieved it."

"Precisely." I sighed, and brushed my hair behind my ear. I was wearing it down for once, just to really emphasize to myself that I wasn't fighting. "Still…"

"Still, liberating Renais can be tactically sound, providing we can come up with a good strategy."

"True." I glanced at him, a bit surprised at how quickly he said the words, before smirking. Considering how he was, I had a guess as to why that was. "Of course, you just really want get Eirika and Ephraim home."

"That's…" He scowled and I laughed, amused that I'd been right. "Not a word. I won't do it if it's not tactically sound."

"Of course."

"I mean it."

"I know."

"Seriously, not a word."

"I wouldn't dream of poking holes in your façade. Your social awkwardness does it for me."

"That's…!"

"Oh, hey, is it time to tease Innes silly?" Tana jumped out onto the balcony, grinning. Like Innes and me, she was in her new clothes, which looked a lot like what Marisa wore. "And there you are, Emma!" she laughed, latching onto my arm. Innes simply rolled his eyes. "Sorry for just appearing out of nowhere. Cormag and I were heading for a flight, and I was wondering if you'd like to come along. Vanessa's helping Lute with something."

"Mmm… sure, that does sound fun," I replied. More importantly, I knew Brynhildr would sulk if I didn't take up the offer. "But do you really want to save Innes from teasing?"

"It's a hard choice." She playfully began thinking about it, and Innes glowered. "I know! I'll join in, so that we can cram more in a shorter time!"

"Now that sounds amusing."

"Doesn't it?" She grinned and hopped over to Innes's side, to hug him. And pin him. "No escaping! I've got you now!"

We didn't actually tease him too long. Cormag was waiting and I had to change into more practical clothing. But it was hilarious to make him stammer and attempt to defend himself. It was even more hilarious when he retaliated, and made Tana squeak in protest. All in all, it became good fun.

* * *

"Managed to get that evidence, the forged ledgers among some other things, so I went ahead and got them dragged to the prisons for future conviction." Gerik lounged in his chair, reporting the latest results of his investigation to Joshua, but he took the time to smile when I handed him a mug of beer. "Thanks, lass," he murmured before focusing on Joshua again. "You don't mind I did that, right?"

"Nope, if anything, I think it'll save me some work," Joshua replied. He accepted the tea I passed him without a word. Whatever medicine Natasha had him on, it apparently mixed badly with alcohol, so he was forbidden to have it. I wondered if it was a way to cut off a potential 'drowning sorrows' thing. "Since I don't have to get involved, I won't have to oversee the judgment."

"Good. I was afraid they'd skip town, or try to." Gerik nursed his mug and glanced about the room. "So, why are we in a sunny parlor instead of your study? Don't get me wrong. It's lovely, with very comfy chairs and lots of pretty colors for the curtains. But I'm curious."

"Petal insisted I get out of the room and dragged me to the sunniest room she could find." Joshua shrugged and sipped his tea. It wasn't quite the truth. While I had indeed dragged him out of his study, he'd actually picked this room to rest in. It had been where he'd eat breakfast with his parents every morning, and the 'comfort' of the room was perfectly intentional. It was designed to be a room where the rulers could relax. I thought it telling that the room had been _very_ dusty just a week ago. "So, here we are."

"Good choice, lass." He brought his mug up to silently toast me, and I smiled before busying myself in the corner, setting up the snacks I'd brought. Mostly just pomegranates, and a couple of other bits of fruit. I didn't want them ruining their dinner. "Though, lass, we can handle that stuff. You don't need to play waitress for us."

"She's portioning things out to make sure I eat properly, and sticking around to make sure I obey the healer's orders like a good boy."

"You better. That healer is also your lover."

"Yes, so petal is making sure I don't accidentally double-damn myself." Joshua's voice was light, so I knew he was grinning. "Slight subject change, but I never did ask how mad you were about my dramatic reveal, by the way. I've been told second-hand, but..."

"It still annoys the hell out of me. I suspected you. I _very much_ did. But then I decided that there was no way. You would've at least changed your name or something!"

"Nope! To be fair, I was thirteen when I ran. What thirteen year old is smart?"

"None. You think you are at the time, but then you look back and wince at all the idiotic things you did and thought." Gerik smiled at me when I returned with two plates. "Oh, wow, pomegranates. Fancy."

"Welcome to the castle." Joshua shrugged and casually began eating the fruit. "To be more accurate, though, it was Mother's favorite food. Seems the servants hoarded them for this time of year to try and cheer her up."

"Aren't pomegranates associated with the Queen-Goddess of the Dead?"

"Well, if you listen to Grado's beliefs, She blessed Mother. Same with petal and me. But, really, she just liked the taste."

"Right…" He frowned at Joshua worriedly and glanced at me. I smiled slightly and he nodded, trusting that things were going to be okay. He wouldn't say it aloud, but he was very concerned for Joshua's mental health, same as the rest of us. "Anyway, that more or less ends that bit of investigation. I think I'm almost done with the list of suspects, so I think I need to pass on a message."

"From?"

"The Guild." He downed the last of his beer. I took the empty mug and handed him some tea in return. "Lass, you're fussing."

"She's also here to relay any important information to the others." Joshua grinned and Gerik sighed, but nodded. I think he understood the real reason. Joshua just wanted me around for moral support. It was a lot easier to do what you needed to do when family was near, and it wasn't like I had anything to do. I'd honestly probably be running errands for the others if I weren't here. "So, message?"

"Guild wants to know what you're planning." Gerik's expression became very serious and Joshua closed his eyes. "I'll admit that people are a bit uneasy ever since you made it perfectly clear that you planned on staying with the army. I don't think they quite understand the full threat. I know I didn't until I joined on. I thought it was a simple war, just on a grander scale. There's far too limited information coming in."

"I figured. Jehanna's gossip network relies on mercenaries traveling, and no one would tell a simple mercenary the true goal. But I know how to make them realize how deathly serious everything is." Joshua opened his eyes and straightened in his chair, strangely dignified for someone who looked like he really needed a nap. "The answer to the Guild's question is that I'm ordering a Full Call."

"You… well, shit." Gerik glanced down at the tea and then at me. "I don't suppose we have anything stronger than tea?"

"Not anymore," I replied, smiling apologetically. "I was balancing too much as is, and didn't really expect you to drink it so quickly." The Hall was on skeletal staff for mourning, and I didn't want to inconvenience the ones still here. "But what's a Full Call? I do believe that's one of the few mercenary terms I actually don't know."

"Full Call is basically when whoever is ruling Jehanna goes 'I need an army and I needed it yesterday'," Joshua answered. He finished off his pomegranate and set the plate on the table before going back to his tea. "All contracts are nullified, with some exceptions, and all mercenaries are technically employed by the crown. It's the Jehannan equivalent of drafting."

"I see." I frowned, seeing a potential problem immediately. "You'd have to balance quite a few things, calling that. I imagine the former employers would be mad and you'll lose quite a bit of gold."

"Yep. Wars are profitable. I imagine that's why Mother didn't order it. However, I think the danger makes the potential loss worth it. More to the point, I think calling it should emphasize the dangers that come."

"When the crown sounds the Full Call, find a place to hide and pray to all the gods," Gerik muttered, like he was repeating some sort of saying. He downed his tea, and I refilled his mug. "When was the last time one was called?"

"276 years ago," Joshua answered instantly. He smirked when Gerik gave him a dirty look. "It is a testament to my tutors that I remember all this after ten years of being a mercenary. But, regardless, do you mind if I leave the potential explanations to you and yours?"

"Of course not. Tethys has been fretting that you work too hard as is." Gerik smiled and, after a moment, Joshua smiled back. I knew he was grateful for all the fussing, though he'd never say it. It was nice to know you were loved and respected. "So, message out, Guild coded. If they're not within three days of Zada, they should head to Frelia?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Joshua sighed and finished up his tea. He shook his head when I went to refill it, so instead, I just rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm also ordering the evacuation of Southern Jehanna, and for them to remove any and all road signs along the way. We can't really _stop_ Grado, but we can at least make it difficult for them to return."

"Hopefully, the Full Call will make them listen."

"Gods, I hope so too." A knock on the door startled all of us, both because of the sound and because no one else was 'scheduled' to meet with any of us for a few more hours. "Who the hell?"

"I'll get it," I volunteered, already moving. I opened up the door cautiously, just in case, and saw one of the servants, sadly one of the many I didn't know the name of, looking rather nervous. "Hello, do you need something?"

"There's a visitor for King Joshua," they explained quickly, sounding a little panicked for some reason. They pointed down the hall where a cloaked figure waited by a window. "Is he busy?"

"Well…" I glanced back at Gerik and Joshua. The two of them shared a look and nodded, both tensing up. If this was an assassin, they were fairly confident we could handle it. "No, it's fine." I stepped out briefly and waved for the cloaked figure to come inside. "Thank you. I'm sorry to cause trouble."

"It's fine, Lady Emma." The servant bowed and ran off, likely to return to whatever task.

I bit my tongue to keep from protesting the title, and simply opened the door further to let the visitor inside. They glanced at me curious as they passed, and I couldn't see their expression due to how the shadows of the hood fell over their face. However, without hesitation, they unbuckled the sword on their belt and handed it to me before stepping fully inside and bringing the hood down to reveal an older person than I expected. They were graying at the temples, for instance, and had noticeable lines on their face. There was some tiredness in their eyes, a weariness to the stoic expression they wore. I didn't recognize them. Not at all.

Gerik frowned and tensed up more, not recognizing them either, but Joshua stood straight up, like he'd been stabbed, and he simply stared at the person. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally managed to whisper, "Mordred? Mordred, is that you?"

"Hello, little prince," 'Mordred' replied. He smiled slowly, and the lines around his eyes and mouth deepened slightly. Smile lines. This was a person who normally smiled a lot, no matter how tired he seemed. "How the hell did you hide for ten years? You look almost exactly like your father."

"So I've heard. Carlyle thought he'd come back from the dead." Slowly, Joshua sat back down. Noticing him struggling to regain his calm, I went to his side and rested a hand on his shoulder to remind him that he wasn't alone. He smiled gratefully at me. "Well, you're not who I expected. Gerik, Emma, this is Mordred, one of the Knights of the Oasis."

"I know the name 'Gerik'." Mordred nodded to Gerik and Gerik cautiously nodded back. "The Desert Tiger, yes?"

"Yes," Gerik replied. Keeping his eyes on Mordred, he held out a hand towards me. I passed him the sword without hesitation, knowing that if this turned into a fight, it was far better for _him_ to be armed. "You'll forgive the suspicions, I'm sure. Given what one of your fellows recently did."

"Of course," Mordred reassured, unbothered. He turned his attention to me, frowning slightly. "Emma… if I remember correctly, Lady Tabitha's youngest was named that. You look like her."

"So I've been told," I replied. I thought for a moment before deciding to go with a smile. Gerik would be far better at being the 'suspicious one' than me, and Joshua was still reeling a bit, so I figured I'd be the polite, keep-things-moving one. And perhaps be a tiny bit passive-aggressive. "So, what brings you here? I understand that you haven't so much as visited Zada in ten years?"

"Yes, well…" Mordred looked to Joshua, and Joshua had recovered enough to at least pretend to be totally calm. "First off, little prince… sorry, King Joshua, I'm sorry about Ismaire. I'm sorry one of my fellows betrayed her and you so completely."

"Carlyle's choices were his own," Joshua replied neutrally. He reached up to briefly squeeze the hand I had on his shoulder. "I appreciate the sympathy, though. But if you do not mind my asking for the 'second' thing? I am afraid I have quite a lot to do before I leave to fight again."

"You're your mother's child. She never left things half-done." Mordred sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, to be blunt, I'm here for probably very selfish reasons."

"If it's to be released from your oath, I will point out that the oath was nullified when my father died. You have no obligation to anyone but yourself."

"Technically, yes, but that's not what I meant." Mordred fell silent, clearly trying to pick his words. "My running away from the pain of losing Raphael, _all_ of us running… it meant we weren't here when Ismaire needed us the most. It meant we weren't here when you needed support the most, as a child confused by all the sudden changes, leading you to run. That's a failing of the oath I swore, at least in my eyes. That's failing Raphael, because I, one of his knights, did not protect his two most precious people." He bowed then, and I got the impression that if we'd been in the throne room, he would've actually knelt. There just wasn't really enough room between where he was and Gerik's chair for him to kneel without some awkward shuffling about. "So, while I'm uncertain on swearing myself to you, I will swear myself to your cause. I, and all the other Knights of the Oasis, swear this."

"… _All_ of the others?"

"We're all back in Zada, for the first time since Raphael's funeral. I'm just the one who volunteered to speak to you." He looked up and smiled slightly. "So, what do you need, King Joshua? I understand if you have difficulties trusting a Knight of the Oasis, but…"

"Meh, if you betray, I'll just kill you like I did Carlyle." Joshua shrugged, apparently unbothered. I knew he was holding back tears, though. I could see them. "You guys will also be watched by… oh, probably _everyone_. It would be a bad time to pull a betrayal. I'm pragmatic enough to know that I need the help, particularly since I _will_ be marching to war."

"Then leave Jehanna's defense to us." Mordred straightened, his smile growing. "What is the current plan?"

"Well…"

"You were supposed to meet with L'arachel about easing relations between Jehanna and Rausten in a few hours," I gently reminded. Joshua's expression blanked briefly before he smiled apologetically. This was more immediately important, and he wanted to jump in on it now. "Okay, I'll let her know that it'll need to be moved to tomorrow due to unexpected reinforcements." I glanced at Gerik, a bit worried, but Gerik nodded, reassuring that he could handle things. "I will be back when it's time for your checkup, though. You're still badly injured."

"Thanks, petal," Joshua murmured. His smile grew and in it, I saw reassurance. He'd be fine. "Love you."

"Love you too, brother. I'll see you later."

* * *

In addition to the clothes, Joshua also offered to have our armor and weapons fixed and, after some checks, all of us took him up on said offer because our weapons and armor badly needed it. Especially our armor. Gareth, being Joshua's friend and favorite blacksmith, ended up with a lot of extra business, to the point that he actually had to pass a few on to others. All good fun, though Joshua had used the offer to hide that he had commissioned a brand new set of armor for me, one made of black and grey leather to be easier for me to move around in while providing more protection than my heavily banged up chest armor. I'd get him back for it later.

"I know I'm supposed to be helping you make sure everything fits, but I have to say that you cut a fine figure with that one," Eirika noted. We were in my room, since she actually wasn't busy for once, checking out my armor. And marveling at how professional I looked. "Jehannans know their leather."

"Clearly," I replied, staring at my reflection. I couldn't help it. I looked like someone who actually knew what she was doing, and that just startled me. "It's not even stiff."

"Lucky." She poked the armor a bit and messed with the buckles for me. "I'd say go through a couple of training session in it, but honestly I think it fits perfectly."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." I adjusted my gauntlets and smiled at my reflection, noting the difference between this one's design and my last one's. This new armor was based a lot off of Cormag's armor, but it also made sure to guard the upper arms and my stomach, exactly where I'd gotten two of my worst wounds. There wasn't much I could do with my legs, because I had to buckle myself in when riding Brynhildr, but this armor would keep me far safer than the one before. It was even reinforced to make sure it could stop, or blunt, animal bites. "You sure you don't want a set?"

"Considering I fight mostly on the frontlines, and I'm not as skilled at dodging as, say, Marisa, it's probably better that I keep the metal armor. But I am tempted, I must admit. Sorely tempted."

"If you're certain." I had to make myself stop fussing with the gauntlets. They'd finally been properly resized to fit me, but they'd also been touched up. Bits of leather that had worn away had been replaced, for instance, and the hand part, particularly the fingers, had been completely redone, to better suit my archery and lance. The compartments had also been fixed up, to be even more secure yet easier for me to open up. "I forgot to ask, but how is Joshua paying for all of this?"

"I actually did ask, and it turns out that he's not footing the bill. L'arachel is." She grinned when I gave her an incredulous look. "Yeah, I know. I was surprised too. But it's apparently part of their grand master plan to improve relations between the countries."

"By having L'arachel spend a bunch of her uncle's money?" My first honest thought was that this was Joshua humoring L'arachel. But then I remembered the loss of profits from the Full Call. "Oh, wait, of course. Jehanna is low on money and food. This is high quality work, which is expensive as hell. Rausten paying for it means that Rausten is helping Jehanna in a way that they, in their pride, can accept."

"And the people are aware of that, so it might make them more amicable to Rausten in the future. Plus, the soldiers of Rausten have to interact with the Jehannans a lot, hopefully softening their opinion." Eirika laughed, nodding. "I was impressed when L'arachel explained it, even though we're both worried Joshua is overworking."

"He's been sleeping finally." I studied her face and, after a moment, poked her cheek. "You, however, look like you haven't. What's up? Nightmares?"

"No…" She shook her head, cheer falling so fast that I actually glanced at the ground to see if it had shattered on the floor. "No, it's silly. Nothing to worry about."

"That's only going to make me worry more." I started taking off the armor, now that we were certain it fit. "Come on. It's just us here, and it's the safety of my room, meaning that if someone comes barging it, it better be a pretty damn big emergency."

"True." She helped me with a couple of the buckles, eyes sad. "Oh, fine. I've been thinking on Lyon."

"Should I have grabbed him and made him stay?"

"No, I wouldn't want to force him. I just wish he had stayed anyway." She and I got the armor off, and I set it up in the corner to be properly put up later. "I'm relieved he's still the same. I'm glad his information proved true. But it just makes things more complicated for me."

"Because you're not only his friend. You love, or loved, him." I looked up at her, and saw her pointedly looking away. "You're not sure anymore. Seeing him again made you even more unsure on whether you love him or you love your memory of him, because everything is so different."

"That's a very good summary." She gave me a dirty look. "How do you figure it out so fast?"

"I know you, and we've talked about this previously." I smiled reassuring, leaning down and looking up to catch her eye. Just to make sure she saw it. "I do try to remember things. Just like you try to remember things."

"True…" She smiled back, but it was tired and bitter. "None of this is helped by… well..." She fidgeted a bit, embarrassed. "Okay, so, I'm finding Saleh attractive?"

"Saleh?" My first instinct was 'really?', but then I thought about it a bit and decided I could see the appeal. "Well, he's easy on the eyes for certain. Patient and quietly kind."

"He's also incredibly intelligent, always willing to teach, even more willing to learn. He and I talk a lot about history. Remind me to tell you about Nada Kuya. It's really a fascinating story."

"Of course." I thought a bit more, mentally noting Saleh's attractive qualities, but also realizing a bit of a pattern. "Oh. I think I get it now. He's like Lyon." At the least, based on what I'd been told, I saw a lot of similarities.

"Exactly!" She sat down on the bed, posture drooping. "So, I don't know if my confused head is trying to 'replace' or if I just have a type or if it's real or if it's fake or… or anything, really." She sighed heavily and flopped back on the bed, covering her face with her arms. "Then I feel horrible for getting so tied up over it because there's a thousand and one things to do, and we might be marching for Renais, it's still up in the air, but there's a _chance_ and…"

"Eirika, remember to breathe." I sat down next to her and ran my hand through her hair reassuringly. "I'll admit. I'm in over my head when it comes to giving advice on something like that. I'll support you and listen, I'll help you piece it together, but I don't know how to help besides that."

"That's enough for now. Just having someone to listen is enough."

"For now."

"For now. And if it becomes 'not enough', I'll… find someone who can hopefully give advice?"

"Tethys might be the best choice. At least, for something that confusing. Besides, she knows Saleh." I continued running my hand through her hair. "Do you want me to give her a head's up?"

"Mmm… actually, yeah. Tell her I'm not looking for advice _quite_ yet, but I might need it in the future."

"Of course." I was already piecing together what I needed to say in my head, but stopped when I realized how much time had passed. "Much as I'm sure you'd love hiding in my room, I do think you have a meeting soon? You were only on break."

"I do." She whimpered and turned onto her side, like she was ready to just curl up and go to sleep. "Ugh… I'm so tired."

"I know. But the sooner you're done, the sooner you can enjoy a very long nap without having to time it."

"True." Reluctantly, she pushed herself up and rested her head on my shoulder. "Thirty more seconds to regain my calm."

"Of course." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "I'm here for you, Eirika. Always."

"Thank you. I'm here for you too, okay? Always." She looked up at me. "Speaking of which…"

"I've been worrying over so many things I haven't thought about it." I grimaced and she smiled, understanding. "I'll get on that, promise. We'll see if I get all confused. But, here, I'll walk you to your meeting. Who's it with?"

"Tana and L'arachel."

"Then I'll definitely walk you there. Up and at 'em."

"Meh… fine, here we go."

After getting Eirika to the meeting, and making sure they were set up with plenty of tea and snacks, I decided to take a little walk to simply move around a little bit. While I walked, I decided to just immediately keep my promise and, thus, thought about my feelings for Ephraim, but just as always, I hit the same wall. Being with him meant accepting the possibility of being queen. I didn't want to be queen. I liked my quiet. But then I thought of what Natasha suggested. Not necessarily what I _wanted_ , so much as could I be happy. But as I thought about it, guilt flooded me, almost drowning me. After all, what right did I have to be _happy_? Mary and Jacob and the others didn't get to be happy. My parents lost their happiness quickly. Monica died with all her dreams unreached. Orson went mad, and I couldn't save him. I killed people and inflicted pain to thousands. I didn't…

But, at the same time, even as I thought all that, I knew that it wasn't quite true. Yes, I did do all those things, yet I also knew that...

"Either there's something very wrong outside the window there or you're thinking some bad thoughts, lass." Gerik's quiet observation nearly made me yelp and I whirled to see him standing a short distance away. "So, which is it?" he asked. I wasn't sure why. His expression and tone screamed that he knew the answer anyway. I wondered how long he'd been watching me. "Something wrong or bad thoughts?"

"Um…" I began, not quite sure what to say. After all, until I looked around, I wasn't even aware that I'd been by a window in the first place. "Well…"

"Second then. Thought so." He joined me by the window, looking out. This window had a view of the city, blocked a bit by some buildings. "Definitely the second. The only thing odd outside is how peaceful everything is."

"I suppose." I looked out the window too and saw how quiet it all looked. But it didn't feel like a quiet before the storm. It just… felt like quiet contentment, like Rosewatch or Caer Pelyn. "Um..."

"You want to talk about it, lass? I can also take you to Tethys if you'd prefer talking to her. I think Natasha is dealing with a patient, but if you need a healer's opinion, Moulder's free."

"Mmm…" I debated for a moment before shaking my head. "Actually, I think you might be the one with a possible answer."

"What's the question?"

"How do you convince yourself that you deserve happiness?"

"Ah, so you do have that part of survivor's guilt." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him and closed my eyes. I knew he'd understand. "I wasn't sure, since you manage to laugh. I always found it hard to laugh when I was at my worst."

"Laughing has made me feel like I'm 'winning', but I don't know against what."

"Life. All this chaos. Your own depression. Any or all." He sighed and patted my shoulder. "Now, lass, I will admit everyone is different and even when you have a technique, some days, you just have to fake it or take that leap of faith. With that said, considering how you are, my trick might help you."

"What was it?"

"Logic. You can admit that the people you love deserve happiness, right?"

"Of course. Always."

"Now, aren't they happy when you're happy?"

"I… yes?" It took a second to piece it together. "Oh. I deserve happiness because my friends deserve it, and they are happy when I am happy. Or, they believe I deserve it, and I love them, so I believe in them."

"Yeah, that's how I got through the worst of it. And after a while, it became simply 'I deserve to be happy'. Some days, I relapse. You always do, no matter how much you heal. Those days, I remind myself that I'm surrounded by people who want to see me happy, and I'm able to push through it."

"I see." I nodded, opening my eyes. Thinking like that, I could make it pass that stumbling block in my head. Maybe. I'd have to think about it, just a little more. But I had the tools I needed, at least to help me climb past that wall. At least, I felt like I had one more tool, and that it might be enough. "Thanks, Gerik."

"Of course." He let go of me and ruffled my hair. "Now, of course, such introspection means you should have a bit of fun first. We're sneaking Joshua out to a tavern. Why don't you come along?"

"Sure, sounds good." I grinned, feeling a lot better already. I'd come up with my answer later, in a couple of days, when my mind was a little steadier. For now, fun and hilarity awaited. "Let's go!"

* * *

It took a few more days, but it was eventually decided that, based off the number of mercenaries Jehanna could already field (with the promise of more arriving in Frelia), the remaining Knights of the Oasis handling Jehanna's defenses, the number Rausten soldiers, and the continued lack of Grado soldiers in Renais, we would actually march into Renais and attempt to liberate Ivroria. Which resulted in a lot of running around for extra supplies, a lot of extra training sessions, and discussions for the best route and marching pattern.

"Scale of one to ten, how scared do you think the Renaisi are going to be with two more wyverns flying about and how confused are they going to be when they realize we're helping them?" Cormag asked with a bit of a laugh. He and I had just finished some flying practice, mostly to make sure my new armor would work out in a combat situation. It did, marvelously. "Well, I'm assuming there's some wyverns in Ivroria. Even when on skeletal guard, there are wyverns to scout."

"I imagine the same reaction that everyone else has," I replied, petting Brynhildr's side. We were lounging in the outer courtyard with our wyverns, with Brynhildr and Genarog dozing behind us as backrests. "Please don't eat me, oh wait, they're allies, yay, please don't eat me." I grinned with Cormag laughed outright. "I don't know if the reaction will be worse or better with Renais compared to, say, Jehanna. It all depends on what all happened." My eyes darkened as I remembered something. "That said, Valter was part of the initial assault. I think he chased fairly quickly after Seth and Eirika, though."

"I hope so. Otherwise, there might not be much of Ivroria to save." He glanced at me, growing serious. "How are you?"

"That's out of nowhere."

"Not really. I've been told about Orson, and I know he's there."

"Oh. That's what you meant."

"Yeah." He crossed his arms and leaned a little more into Genarog. Genarog sleepily crooned and shifted his wing over Cormag. "He's your brother, right?"

"Brother by marriage, technically. He and I share no blood. He was married to my older sister, Monica." I closed my eyes, trying to fight off that pain. "I'm surprised it came up. I was under the impression that no one really talked about it unless they had to. Then again, perhaps they're just quiet on the subject when I'm around."

"You, Seth, Forde, Kyle, Prince Ephraim, and Princess Eirika. Garcia was the one who told me, but he'd hush up whenever one of you passed near."

"That's kind of everyone." I opened my eyes again, and then looked up at the cloudless sky not quite showing the signs of dusk yet. It would soon, though. "Orson lost his parents when he was young. Officially, he lived with Elder David, like most orphans, but unofficially, he lived with us. Dad took him in, you see. I wasn't even a year old when it happened, so from my perspective, he was always there and always family. Of course, he was around less when he became a knight, but he wrote daily letters. One to me and one to Monica, and both would have little gifts. Trinkets, dried flowers… something he thought we'd enjoy. It was enough to make me smile, even when I was at my lowest point."

"But then your sister died."

"But then my sister died, and someone decided to degrade her and turn her into a damn carrot dangling on the edge of a stick for Orson to betray everything. And he, the idiot, went for it." I spoke the words slowly, each one more bitter than the last. I couldn't decide who I was angry at more. I knew who I hurt more over, but I couldn't decide if I was angrier at the tempter or at Orson. Or at myself. "And now he's in Ivroria, letting the very country he swore to protect fall into anarchy and chaos for whatever doll he's pretending is Monica."

"A lovely telling, but none of it really answers my question of how you are doing."

"Right…" I sighed, leaning more against Brynhildr. She cracked an eye open and shifted around to lick my cheek before settling back down. "The answer is 'I have no damn clue'. Which rather summarizes my approach to most of this. I'll have plenty of time to think on it, though."

"You will." Cormag fell silent for a brief moment, trying to pick his words carefully. "If you need a flight to clear your head, feel free to ask. I know no one will allow a solo flight."

"…Thanks, Cormag." I smiled, touched, and playfully nudged his side. He simply smiled back. "I appreciate it." I was also rather embarrassed by it, but thankfully, there was a very easy out before things got awkward. "We should probably get inside."

"We should. I just wanted to let you know." He stood up and offered me his hand. I took it without hesitation. "Now, to wake the two sleepers. This'll be fun."

Amusingly, Genarog apparently really disliked being woken from naps, as it took quite a few tries to even get him to consider getting up. A couple of times he pinned Cormag and me with his wings as if to say 'stop working and just take a nap with me'. Brynhildr was a bit easier, but when she saw how much trouble we were having with Genarog, she went straight back to dozing instead of helping. The result was a lot of laughter, a lot of fond exasperation, and the sun actually setting by the time we actually did manage to make it inside to go do whatever.

I decided, after a quick bath and a change of clothes into something less practical but oh-so-pretty, to walk through the castle gardens. On the way, though, I ran into someone I'd assumed would be busy. "Ephraim?" I called. He stopped walking and turned to face me, waiting for me to catch up. "Are you on break?"

"Actually, I'm surprisingly done for the day," he replied, smiling. His smile grew when I gave him a skeptical look. "By healer's orders. Moulder and Natasha decided that we were all working too much and gave us an ultimatum. Rest for the day, or be confined to the infirmary for observation."

"Ha!" I had to grin at that, mostly because it was so easy to see. "Well, in that case, would you like to walk the gardens with me? They're quite calming, or so I think."

"I… sure!" He grinned back, looking rather lively. "I haven't actually gotten to visit the gardens here."

"In that case, follow me." I led the way down the hall and he fell in-step with me easily. "Have you all determined when we leave?"

"Innes wants to wait for one more report from his spies, just in case, but that should only be a day or two. So, we'll likely leave in three days."

"Three days, huh?" I sighed mournfully and looked down at my clothes. "I'll only be able to wear these for three more days. That's rather sad."

"You can wear them more."

"I can't wear these with my armor."

"No, I meant in Renais. When we free it."

" _When_ , huh?" I smirked at him, debating whether to poke fun. I decided against it. It was far too easy to mock him for that boast, and there was no reason to run a joke into the ground. "Well, I'll consider packing some if I have room."

"You should. They look nice on you."

"Jehannan clothing must really suit me considering the number of compliments I've gotten." I laughed a bit, amused, and turned the corner to enter the gardens. "Here we are."

"Oh, wow…" Ephraim's eyes widened as we walked through, his head turning this way and that. "I'm not quite sure what I expected, but…" He smiled, eyes settling on the pond in the center. "Is that how they water the plants?"

"They irrigate as well, taking water from the Vrep, though the garden is also designed to drain water easily and to collect the rainwater for future use." Thanks to the recent rain, the flowers were especially vibrant. I particularly loved the chrysanthemums, but the poppies were also lovely. "The flowers floating in the water are lotuses, by the way."

"That was going to be my next question." His gaze went to the trees along the edges of the gardens. "I don't think I've seen a castle garden with trees before."

"It's for shade, and to have a ready supply of fruit. You've pomegranate, peach, dates, figs…"

"How do you know all of them?"

"Joshua. He used to pick fruit with his parents." I shrugged and started walking around the pond. He followed, and nearly fell face first into the water. "Careful, the ground is soft."

"I noticed!" He scowled, but it softened when I laughed. "Well, come on! Show off your knowledge some more."

"It isn't that much."

"It's more than me. Please?"

I debated it a while longer before I told him a bit more about the garden, and the other gardens attached to the castle, like the vegetable and herbal. Renais's castle relied on the farmlands for such things, so the concept was likely a little foreign to him, but that just it more fascinating for him. He listened closely, eyes sparkling, and it was all just strangely adorable. I found myself relaxing and laughing without even thinking about it, a 'quiet contentment' settling over me, and as we continued talking, I found myself thinking again of my 'romance problem'.

'Can you be happy?', Natasha had asked. So, I asked that of myself. 'Can I be happy?' It was a bit of a struggle, but with the trick Gerik taught me, I was able to find an answer. Surprisingly, the answer was 'probably'. I didn't want to be queen, but if I was, I could still 'probably' be happy. At the least, I knew that even though I did want quiet, I would not be miserable. It wasn't the most concrete of answers, of course, but that didn't matter. It was another leap of faith. I took a leap and dropped from a flying wyvern onto a mountain. Taking a chance here? Not scary in the slightest.

"Say, Ephraim?" I began once I had my answer. I stopped walking and waited for him to face me. He was smiling. The wind caught my hair, so I brushed it behind my ear. "I love you."

"You… wait, huh?" Ephraim replied. His expression completely blanked for a split second before he began blushing. Badly. "Huh?"

"I love you." I shrugged, appearing nonchalant. While I was a touch nervous, I was more amused by his reaction, but I didn't want him to see either. "It's a fairly straightforward sentence, really."

"But that's… you…" He stammered and sputtered a couple more times, gesturing as he apparently attempted and failed to string together a coherent sentence. "I… wait… that's…"

"Wow, I don't think I've seen you taken so off-guard before."

"W-well, I don't exactly have people confessing to me every day! Particularly…" He looked away, red all the way up to the tips of his ears now. "I mean…"

"You know; traditionally speaking, there's three options for responding to a confession of love." I leaned forward slightly, clasping my hands behind my back, and somehow, his face went even redder. "So, what's troubling you? If you're worried about letting me down gently, just be bluntly honest. I won't mind."

"That's not it!" He faced me again, eyes almost painfully sincere. "That's the farthest thing from it, actually!"

"So, do you love me?"

"I've been in love with you since we met!" He blurted out the words, and I knew my own expression blanked at that. The logical part wanted to call 'bullshit', but again, his eyes were so sincere that it almost hurt. "And I've… attempted… flirting, but gods, I have no idea how, so I just seized any excuse to be near and I've just been falling harder ever since!"

"You… you have?" Now my own face was going red, and I looked down in a vain attempt to hide it. "Wait, didn't I yell at you when we first met? And threaten you?"

"I love your honesty. I love how fiercely you protect your own." He hesitated before resting his hands on my shoulders. They were warm. "Even when you were annoyed, you still warned me to be safe. Even when you were reeling from Orson's betrayal, you desperately shouted to not only save my life, but beg me to get Eirika safely away. Even though you were hurting so much, you refused to simply go along with Orson, tearing apart his argument, and doing what you could to try and save him from his own madness."

"That's… um…"

"You throw barbs and poke at my ego, yes, but it's rarely to be simply mean. It's just that honesty of yours, urging me to improve. You never abandon anyone, not even those you don't quite get along with." There was a bit of a laugh to his voice. "You're also _incredibly_ beautiful, by the way. I should probably mention that in this ramble."

"Um…" I couldn't look up. I was blushing so badly that I thought I was sunburned again. "That's…"

"You went on a dangerous, ill-advised mission to help Eirika and kept her safe. When you knew there was danger back at Frelia, your first thought was to warn all of us, even though you were covered in blood. You braved arrows and magic time and again to rescue civilians during the siege. You used yourself as bait to help take out the greatest threat to their safety. And after that, even though I wasn't your favorite person, you forewent immediate medical treatment to help me. Just because you thought I was in danger."

"You… mentioned something about love then, now that I'm remembering."

"I did. I was being completely honest then. But it was a bit of a clichéd line." He squeezed my shoulders. "And after that… like I said, I've just been falling harder the more I've gotten to know you. I love you."

"That… um…" I still couldn't look up. "That was a much longer answer than I expected, truthfully. And I hope you're not expecting my version of why I fell for you because I can guarantee you, I am way too embarrassed to say that."

"It would be fair play, you know."

"Well, if you're _very_ good, then perhaps I'll tell you later." I did finally muster up the resolve to look up and smile at him. He was already smiling, still blushing madly, but his eyes warm with affection. "But, for now, may I kiss you?"

"Pardon?"

"You. Kiss. May I?" I grinned as his blush darkened and he looked away in embarrassment. "Do you need me to walk you through the steps?"

"You're enjoying teasing me."

"Very." I laughed and reached up to cup his face, turning it back towards me. His cheeks were warm. "But I would enjoy kissing you more, I'm sure. May I?"

"Ah… sure." He smiled back shyly and leaned forward just a little bit. Strangely uncertain, given it was him, but I found it endearing. "I'd… like that too."

That first kiss was a bit clumsy. Bumping noses and accidentally clacking our teeth, among other things. He was embarrassed, but I just laughed and kissed him again. Because no matter how clumsy it was, that kiss was still the sweetest, and it was perfectly sincere. And it was him, and I wanted to kiss him.

A little part of me screamed. 'You don't deserve this', it wailed. 'You who survived… you don't deserve any of this!' But the happiness in his eyes made it easy to ignore, because Gerik was right. I might not believe I deserve it, but my friends, my loved ones… they believed it. And I believed in them. So, I'd grasp my happiness with both hands, and cling to it with everything I had, especially given the coming days. Liberating Renais would be emotional for many of us, myself included.

But we'd get through this, and I'd find my happiness. I was sure of it.

* * *

Author's note: Well, isn't this a relatively lighthearted chapter? Sort of. Yeah, Ephraim's been in love with Emma since basically the siege in Frelia. Yay?

Now, in-game, post-Scorched Sand didn't have to worry as much about Jehanna's defenses, since Grado was crippled due to Ephraim's actions. However, since Grado still remains a threat, I figured it needed to be brought up and addressed. 'Mordred' is a character from Arthurian Legend, the son of King Arthur who betrayed and led to his death. This Mordred isn't going to betray Joshua, though. I just went with the name for hilarity's sake.

Next Chapter – Ruled by Madness


	26. Chapter 16) Ruled by Madness

Chapter 16) Ruled by Madness

* * *

 _It all started with the fall of Renais. This war... our involvement in said war... it was all because Renais fell._ _Many of us thought it wouldn't be reclaimed until after the war's end, if it was ever freed at all. But with the Rausten knights and Jehanna's mercenaries, with the lack of enemies in Renais, we felt that we stood a chance. So, we march into Renais again, openly instead of hidden like before, and try to hold onto our hope even as we see the ruined remains._

 _Orson is said to rule here. But, it's clear that he only 'lives' here, and that Renais's true ruler is madness. We have to save it. We have to._

* * *

Considering everything that had happened, there was something almost strange about being able to simply relax. But that's just what we were doing. We were in Renais, had taken a break for lunch, and had decided to relax while Cormag did a quick patrol ahead. As a result, Eirika and I were lounging in the grass, Brynhildr watching over us, and Eirika was giggling madly. Why? I'd finally gotten around to telling her just how I confessed to Ephraim.

"Oh, that is even better than I expected!" Eirika cheered, laughing. I was glad she was in good spirits. I knew seeing Renais like this, a shadow of its former self, hurt her deeply. "Way better!"

"As good as me telling you I liked Ephraim when you were _well aware_ that Ephraim liked me too?" I asked dryly. That had come up when I told her that Ephraim and I were together, back in Jehanna. "Little sneak."

"It was simultaneously the most hilarious and frustrating thing ever!" Eirika rubbed at her eyes as tears began forming. "As hilarious as Joshua's reaction to learning."

"I can't believe his reaction was basically 'here are all the ways you can BS your way past complaining nobles'."

"I know, right? I would've thought he'd at least play the overprotective big brother."

"He thought about it, but decided that there was no threat he could make that would be worse than 'she has Brynhildr'." I grinned at her. "Are you going to give me an overprotective speech?"

"Oh, I don't need to do that. If you hurt Ephraim, I'll cry, and I know that's the worst thing I can do to you."

"Ouch, that's a definite hit!" I gave up and started laughing too. The conversation was absolutely ridiculous, and yet, it was wonderfully fun. "Those speeches are always ridiculous, aren't they?"

"Completely."

"Eirika!" L'arachel called suddenly. We both looked to the main part of the camp to see her waving at us. "Sorry, darlings, but Eirika, you're needed!"

"Darn it," Eirika sighed. She stood up and brushed off her skirt. Brynhildr attempted to pin her down with her wing, but I blocked it for her. "Aw, I know, Brynhildr. I want to continue resting too. But if they're calling me, it probably means they need to pick my brain about something."

"Like the embassy thing," I added, remembering that conversation. Since they'd proven useful with Jehanna, there had been discussion about possibly using something similar in Ivroria. However, after a lot of thinking, that had been dismissed because neither Ephraim nor Eirika could remember anything about embassies, leading us to suspect they'd been repurposed, unlike Jehanna's. "Go on. She's just being spoiled."

"Well, of course she is." Eirika scratched Brynhildr behind the eye-ridge, and Brynhildr nuzzled her cheek before reluctantly letting her go. "Thanks, Brynhildr. We'll cuddle more later, okay?"

Laughing, I waved as she left and leaned against Brynhildr, closing my eyes to enjoy the sunshine. Brynhildr sighed gustily, and curled around me, settling her wing over me like a blanket. The two of us ended up dozing for a bit, making a wise use of our break, before Brynhildr suddenly growled. I was awake all at once, tense, but then realized it was 'hey, over there' growl, not of a 'danger' or 'get the hell away' growl. When I looked at her, she used her wing to point to a part of camp where we had a lot of boxes. And above the boxes, just barely visible, I caught sight of purple hair. And, as was the case with so many people in our small core group, there was only one person with purple hair.

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered. Sighing, I stood up, brushed my skirt off, and headed over to the boxes. Sure enough, I found Lute crouched behind them, flipping through some notes. "So, what are you doing?"

"Fascinating. I had been certain I was hidden," Lute replied. She quickly flipped to a blank page and jotted something down before returning to whatever she was doing. "Your facial expressions have indicated that the recent trials, and the thought of coming battles, has left you weary. I once read about an herb that can help alleviate that. It was on page 339 of De Flores Mysticis. Paragraph four. Sentence three."

"I don't suppose you have the name of it?" I smiled as she pouted a little. No, she couldn't quite remember the name, which bothered her severely. "Are you going through your notes to try and find it?"

"Partially. It is an herb that grows well here in Renais, so I believe it will be most efficient for us to gather it." She shrugged, continuing her search. I softened, amused. "Other than that, I was observing you."

"Because of my weird luck again?"

"While that continues to fascinate me, I have reluctantly decided to not turn that into an object of study."

"Really?" I wondered why briefly, but I caught a trace of sympathy in her eyes and realized what it was. Socially awkward as she could be, she still recognized that it was the cause of a lot of grief. "Then, in that case, what were you studying me for?"

"Love." Lute scowled as she thumbed through the pages. "My books so far have taught me nothing of love. You seem like an excellent research subject for it. Particularly romantic love. You're in the first stages of a relationship, after all."

"I… see…?" I wondered why the hell she wanted to know, but then shrugged. I doubted she'd tell me, even if I asked. "You could just ask people, you know. Get a first hand account?"

"I'll get more paper!" She scrambled off, and after a moment, I sighed and brushed my hair behind my ear. I definitely trapped myself on that one. I could only hope her questions wouldn't embarrass me too much.

"Emma!" Neimi appeared behind me, jumping on my back. I half-caught her, mostly because her intention hadn't been to stay on my back. It was just to give me an extra enthusiastic hug. "So, what do you think we should do for dinner tonight?" she asked, smiling brightly. She'd been a little peppier ever since we returned to Renais, and I was glad to see it. I also noticed her hair was getting longer. "I was thinking we could do something with mushrooms. There are a lot growing this time of year."

"That's true," I agreed, turning slightly to look her better in the eye. "We're also near some rivers, so maybe we can convince the others to fish?"

"Oh, fresh fish… that would be amazing!"

"And not something we've had for a while." We last had fresh fish… it had probably been when we were at the Carcino mansion, when Innes, Gerik, Tethys, and Marisa joined up with us. "Though, do we have fishing poles?"

"We have spears. They can go spear-fishing."

"The mental image alone makes me agree." I grinned and she laughed. "In fact, let's get that arranged and…" A shadow above made us both look up, and we saw Genarog and Cormag had returned. But I knew whatever they'd found hadn't been good. Genarog was far too tense and to sharp with his turns. "Uh oh."

"What's wrong?"

"Trouble." I took her hand and started down the path, dragging her with me as I watched Genarog land. I winced when I noticed Genarog lay low to the ground, claws digging into the ground and tail lashing behind him. "Big trouble."

"Why am I not surprised?" Neimi sighed. "And we were having such a good time, too."

"I know." We caught up then, and I let go of Neimi's hand to pet Genarog's face, trying to soothe him. When Cormag dismounted, I glanced over to him, and saw he held himself rigid and kept a perfectly stoic expression. "What did you see?"

"There's a refugee camp ahead," Cormag mentioned softly. Neimi gasped and covered her mouth, eyes wide with fear and pain. It took me a moment to remember that, technically, Colm and Neimi could've been described as 'refugees' too. From Lark. It had happened so long ago that I'd forgotten, but I doubted they ever would. "They're the survivors of ten nearby villages that were destroyed by bandits."

"…Damn," I growled. I stepped away from Genarog to hug Neimi, deciding she needed the comfort more. She started shaking, mouthing something. I wondered if they were prayers or names. "Should've expected this, but damn."

"Exactly."

I continued holding and helping Neimi calm down, while Cormag left to inform the others. Very quickly, we packed up and moved as fast as we could to the refugee camp, Cormag leading the way. When we arrived, we made sure to stop at the edge, in the hopes that we wouldn't scare them, but we probably did anyway, since we were a large amount of people that appeared out of nowhere. But the healers rushed in ahead of the rest of us, and others quickly began helping out where they could as more and more refugees appeared. The number of injured… how thin they all were… the red-rimmed eyes and the tear stained cheeks… the feeble and half-collapsed 'tents' made from holey blankets and random sticks… it all painted quite the picture of the sad state Renais was in.

"This isn't a matter for debate, Seth," Ephraim declared firmly, at some point, after I'd landed and dismounted from doing an aerial patrol. He, Eirika, and Seth stood apart from the others to have some sort of argument. "I want to find who is in charge." He held himself stiffly, but his eyes made it clear that he would not be deterred. "I want to speak with them."

"They'll be angry at you, Prince Ephraim," Seth warned. In stark contrast to both Ephraim and Eirika, he held himself calmly. "They may only yell."

"Good. They should be angry. And I deserve the yelling." Ephraim looked at the camp again, specifically at some small children half-heartedly playing with some broken toys not far away. "But that's no reason to not listen to them, and maybe having a target for their anger will help them heal."

"Prince Ephraim…"

"Let me go with you," Eirika insisted. She smiled sadly when Ephraim looked ready to protest. "I failed them too, Ephraim. They're my people too. Let me share some of the burden. I can't look away from the cruelties of the world if I want to fix them."

"Then let me accompany you both," Seth requested. He smiled proudly at both of them, and they smiled back. "Just in case they turn violent in their grief. I'm better trained at disarming than you two."

"Thank you, Seth. Let's go."

They headed back into the camp, and I thought about following. But, instead, I lingered back, not quite sure what to do. Fliers were, of course, doing patrols to make sure the area was safe, but it was only one at a time, so I had a long while before my next one. Absently, I thought about possibly cooking for them, since it was clear they hadn't had a good meal in a while, and I was sure no one in the group would mind us sharing our food. So, I looked around, hunting for Neimi and Amelia, but my eyes soon fell on some children nearby. They were trembling, looking at me… no, I realized a second later that they were looking behind me. At Brynhildr.

I glanced back at her, and saw that she was doing her best to try and appear as nonthreatening as possible, keeping very low to the ground and her wings tight against her sides. Unfortunately, she was still a giant wyvern. Even if bandits had destroyed their villages, they likely had seen wyverns flying about when Grado had been here, leveling Renais. And Innes's spies did mention that there were still fliers in Ivroria, as part of the soldiers 'guarding' it.

Still, they weren't screaming, so I smiled at them. "Do you want to come over and pet her?" I asked. A couple looked at each other, but they didn't say a word. "I promise; she is very sweet."

They hesitated, and remained silent, staring and unmoving. But, soon, one particularly brave child, a little girl with pigtails of two separate lengths, stepped out of the group and crept closer. She flinched when Brynhildr lifted her head, but continued walking towards us when I smiled and waved her to come closer. Then, giving me a worried look, she rested a shaking hand on Brynhildr's flank. "Warm," she whispered immediately, smiling from surprise. Carefully, she petted Brynhildr's side, laughing a little. "I thought lizards were cool."

"Nope, wyverns are warm, like me and you." I gave Brynhildr a warning look when she looked around. _I_ knew that she just wanted to nuzzle the girl, or lick her cheek, but the girl wouldn't. Brynhildr nodded after a moment and settled back down. "She's better than a fire, when it gets cold."

"I see." The little girl smiled shyly. "C-can I pet her face?"

"If you want to." I moved to block Bryndhilr's nose, mostly to deter her from licking. After a moment, she started stroking Brynhildr's snout. She squeaked when Brynhildr crooned, but I placed a reassuring hand on her back to steady her. "It's okay. That's how she let's you know she's happy. Like a cat's purring."

"Okay…" She didn't look like she quite believed me, but she did relax and began to laugh as she kept on petting. "Hee… she's much nicer than I thought."

"She's only scary to her enemies. Like mean bandits." I looked up and saw a few more children approaching, and smiled warmly. "Come on. It's okay. She _loves_ being petted."

Hesitantly, yet with eyes sparkling with curiosity, the group of children gathered up around me and began petting and poking Brynhildr. I kept them away from her claws and her mouth, mostly to prevent accidents, but I did have to laugh at the children and how Brynhildr just put up with it all.

"Oh, so this is where you were." Cormag landed Genarog near us, far enough away to not scare the children too badly, and dismounted. "Area is clear, by the way," he told me. "Princess Tana has the next patrol." He laughed when Genarog looked over at us, specifically at the kids, and quickly looked away. "Hey, don't be jealous."

"You can pet Genarog too," I let the children know. They gave me curious looks, but they weren't as fearful as earlier. "He's very gentle, much like Brynhildr."

"That is true. He loves being spoiled." Cormag smiled, still laughing a little. "You're more than welcome to pet him."

Almost immediately, some of the children rushed over to start petting Genarog. Genarog sighed and pretended to be just enduring it, but it was just him trying to pretend to be cool and stoic. Cormag and I laughed and simply worked on making sure the children didn't accidentally hurt themselves, and didn't try to climb onto the saddles without us. Just in case.

After a while, I happened to glance back and noticed we had an audience. A group of older children, early teens at the oldest, watched us closely along with some hesitant, yet indulging, parents. The older children looked a little envious, so I smiled and waved them over. "You don't need to stay back," I told them. A thought occurred to me, and I focused on the parents. "Actually, with your permission, we can take them flying? I promise we won't go too high and it's _very_ safe. It has to be. We fight up in the skies."

It did take a couple of more bits of reassurance, mostly by explaining just how we kept our flights safe, but the parents did eventually agree, so long as it was limited to the 'older' children. The younger ones groaned and whined, but the older children leapt at the chance, so Cormag and I began taking them up for low-altitude flights, one at a time to make sure it was absolutely safe. Before long, they were laughing and laughing, and the parents' unease softened for smiles. I wondered how long it had been since they'd laughed so freely.

"Miss, your wyvern can fly really high, right?" one girl asked as we flew. I guessed she was thirteen, at most, and she had healing burns across the back of her neck. I could see them thanks to how short her hair was. "Do you think she could fly all the way up to heaven where my family is?"

"That's…" I began. I wasn't quite sure how to reply. But I decided to just go for my normal honesty. "No, I'm afraid that not even Brynhildr can fly quite that high."

"I figured." She smiled sadly and laughed bitterly. "I just wondered. I miss them. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my baby brother. He… he was going to turn one soon."

"I see." I thought a bit and then urged Brynhildr to fly just a little bit higher, above lowest hanging clouds. Right here, we had a beautiful view of the sky and, as luck would have it, a few stars were beginning to shine through the sunset. "Do you know what they say about stars?"

"The stars are the good wishes of the dead, to remind us to hold onto hope." She said the words softly, dully. "I've heard it a lot since the attack."

"Well, that's the Renasi story. Jehannans believe that they're actually windows, letting the dead check in on their loved ones." I still didn't quite believe the stories, not anymore, but if she could find a bit of comfort… "See that star there?" I pointed to one in particular, sparkling brightly, even near the setting sun. "I bet your family is peering through that one. That's why it's shining so clearly."

"You think so?" Her voice was soft, and a little dull, but her smile warmed and her laugh was brighter. "Ha… it's just a story. But it makes me feel better."

"There's nothing wrong with taking comfort from stories. That's why we have them." I glanced down to check where we were, and nodded. "We'll do one more pass before heading down, okay?"

"Okay."

Cormag and I continued giving rides to the children, until all of them had gone at least once, and some went twice or more. Their parents insisted on them washing up after that, and the children complained but complied. They gave Cormag and me hugs and thanks, petted Brynhildr and Cormag without any of their earlier fear, and left. I watched them go, keeping up a smile, but that smile faded as I remembered that conversation. She had lost her family to bandits. Not a surprise, given everything, yet…"

"You look conflicted over something," Cormag whispered. He didn't look at me, but continued watching the children rush off. "What is it?"

"It's… nothing really," I replied softly. I bit my lip, trying to pick my words with care. "It's just that Orson… he became a knight because he lost his parents to bandits. He didn't want another child to suffer like that." Yet here I was, looking at a whole bunch of children who had. Because he hid himself and didn't even bother helping the people. "I was just a little…" I couldn't complete the thought, but it didn't matter. Cormag understood anyway, and wrapped a reassuring arm around my shoulders.

It was just so hard to believe. I couldn't believe Orson would've changed _this_ much.

* * *

That wasn't the last refugee camp we came across. It wasn't even the second or third to last. Our progress slowed significantly because we chose to stop each time to help the survivors out as much as we could before moving on. So, we made it to Ivroria much later than we expected and, unfortunately, that led to there being more soldiers than we had originally planed for. Not enough to deter us, but enough to make us pause and rework our original infiltration plan.

"So, the main issue at the moment is looking for shelter," Innes summarized. Somehow, I'd ended up in the little tactical meeting, along with Eirika, Seth, Ephraim, Innes, L'arachel, and Joshua. I had _no_ idea why, so I spent most of it being quiet and leaning against Joshua, wondering if I could escape. "Any suggestions? Since we don't have conveniently empty buildings?"

"Hey, those buildings made good shelter," Joshua joked. He grinned and winked, and I had to fight the urge to start braiding his ponytail. Since he was king and all, he ditched the hat, reluctantly, and wore his hair tied back. "They were probably kept around because the city is small anyway. There was nothing to repurpose them for, except maybe more storage."

"It was still convenient, and helpfully so, but we need a Renasi equivalent."

"There are the townhouses," Seth pointed out absently. His eyes were a little distant, likely remembering just how many there were. And how many wouldn't have owners anymore. "Many knights had them, if their families didn't live nearby and they didn't wish to live in the palace."

"Do you have one we can use, Seth?" L'arachel asked kindly. She made sure to smile. "We really only need one to start with, right?"

"We do, but no, I don't have one. My family's home was only a half a day's ride at most, and I was entrusted with guarding Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika." Seth said the words easily, unbothered, but quite a few of us shared worried looks. Franz and Forde were orphans and Kyle's family lived much closer to the Frelia border, but Seth's family would have been close when Ivroria fell. I was terrified that they might've died. "But there are others. The trick will be getting inside. They'll be locked, likely. Though I suppose some thieves might've raided them."

"Thankfully, we've two of our own." L'arachel's smile took on a triumphant air, probably to try and keep our spirits high. "So, truly, we need only to find a place to start, yes?"

"Well, we could use Orson's," I volunteered with a shrug. I had to fight to keep from squirming as all eyes turned to me. I still had no idea why they asked me here, but hey, I could actually help, so yay? "I know where he kept the spare keys. Unless he cleared it out, which I doubt, we should be able to get in easily and it'll serve as a good place to hide while Colm and Rennac go pick the locks of others."

"You sure you're okay with that, Emma?" Ephraim asked quietly. He crossed his arms as he frowned, clearly worried. "That is…"

"I mean; I might need help _getting_ there. I've only been once. But I was going to live there." I smiled at him, and he slowly relaxed, giving me a soft look. "He has three places, and he cycled through them. So, it'll be easier just to have me. Besides, I have practice infiltrating."

"Sadly."

"Blame your plans, love." I looked over to Innes, who actually looked like he was fighting back laughter. Probably because Ephraim went bright red. "So?"

There was a bit more discussion, but ultimately, it was decided to let me go in with Colm, Marisa, and Forde. Forde was a bit of a surprise, truthfully. Knights didn't normally do the infiltration work.

"So, I can't think of a way to politely ask this, so I'll just be my usual blunt self," I began as we snuck inside the city. Marisa's eyes darted around, keeping an eye out for trouble, while Colm walked beside her, perfectly relaxed. Forde walked with me, behind them. "Forde, why did you come along?"

"To be your shield, of course," Forde answered without missing a beat. He fixed the hood of his cloak, and reached ahead to fix Marisa's for her. "You are my lord's lover now, you know. Kyle and I are obligated to protect you." He winked and I rolled my eyes. "More seriously, you said you'd need help getting there, and I know this city the best out of us knights. Figured that would be useful. The wonders of actually going out to taverns, unlike certain prim and proper knights. And I've been to Orson's place before."

"Ah, I see." I nodded, and then looked around the streets. It was… it was strangely lifeless. There were people in the market, but none looked enthusiastic about it. There were children playing, but they went around tiredly. "I've only been here a few times, but…"

"Yeah, no. It's not normally like this." Forde set his jaw when we passed by a couple of people wearing incredibly loose clothing, and stained bandages. "Nothing like this."

"Looks like no one's cleaned or lit the street lamps for a while," Colm added. He glanced back at me with a sympathetic look. "No offense, Emma, but Orson's a really bad ruler."

"He's not ruling at all," I corrected. I flinched when I saw some too thin children, clinging to their far too tired mother. "Even a bad ruler would be better than this."

We walked in silence from then one, and made it to the townhouse without incident. Surprisingly, the spare key was in the first place I checked, the place he'd pulled it from after Monica's funeral, and we snuck around to the back door, just in case someone was actually watching. The door creaked as it opened, and we all walked inside quickly, prepared for anything. Except what we actually saw. At least, I wasn't prepared.

It was dusty. No, that was too tame. It was absolutely _covered_ with dust. It was almost as bad as the embassies in Jehanna, which had been abandoned for literally centuries. I could still see the footprints of the Frelian spies, or so I thought. Maybe that was just my imagination. I didn't know. My brain just… stopped. I couldn't think at all.

"Holy…" Forde breathed, the first of us to speak. He looked around slowly, eyes wide. He kicked up dust each time he shifted his feet. "I've… I've never known this place to feel so dead."

"You mentioned coming here before," Marisa murmured. She was perfectly relaxed, probably because the dust made it quite clear that no one had been here for a while. "How many times?"

"A lot. Whenever my parents' death anniversaries came around, and I had to be alone, Orson would always let me stay here. He also let me hide when I just really wanted to draw and not be bothered." Forde laughed, but it was the laugh of someone who had no idea what else to do. "I can practically hear Monica weeping over the state of the house."

They talked more. I thought they might've. But I stopped paying attention. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, and couldn't catch a breath. Slowly, feeling like nothing was quite real, I walked around the house, desperately hunting for something that wasn't forgotten in the dust. Nothing in the living room, and it looked odd without the trinkets that the Frelian spies had stolen and taken to Frelia castle. Nothing in the kitchen, except molded dishes in the sink and rotted food in the cupboards. Nothing in the guest rooms but beds that desperately needed to be aired out. Nothing on the stairs, save for tiny squeaks that hinted they needed to be fixed. In a flash of inspiration, though, I ran for the back room on the third floor, Orson's bedroom. Surely… surely _that_ place wouldn't be dusty.

I wasn't sure why I got my hopes up, considering how everything else had been. But it had made sense at the time, and so, I felt like I'd been punched in the gut when I reached there and found it just as dusty as the rest. I rummaged through, wondering if, at least, he had taken something from here. But if he had, I couldn't see it. The good luck statue I'd gotten him for his birthday one year was on his desk in the corner. Monica's jewelry and makeup were scattered on the vanity, along with some vials of perfume. The clothes in the closet were untouched, with Orson's formal wear and Monica's dresses left to the dark. And, on the bed, was Orson's quilt, as dusty and musty as the rest.

I picked it up slowly, noting the weight, and studied it. It hadn't been washed in a while, and there were a couple of tears and holes that needed to be mended. I'd never seen it in anything but pristine condition. Orson had always, always, taken very good care of it. It was one of his treasures, like his wedding ring and knight crest. To see it simply abandoned was just…

"Emma?" Eirika's voice made me jump and I whirled to see her in the doorway. "Colm and Marisa returned to lead us here," she explained. "The townhouse is bigger than I expected."

"Yeah, it's one of the larger ones, with multiple floors and all," I replied. At least, I thought I did. She reacted like I did. But honestly, it felt like someone else was talking. "I think Orson had to fix it up, though. So, he got it for cheaper than he probably should've."

"I see." She clasped her hands in front of her, watching me closely. She knew. She knew I was out of it. "Emma."

"I'm sorry. I was telling the truth when I said I thought I'd be fine. I didn't expect to be so shaken. I've only been in here once before, you see. I stayed here after Monica's funeral. So, I didn't think I…" I trailed off, not sure of what to say, and then I held up the quilt so that she could see it. "Nice, isn't it?"

"It's very lovely. Where did he get it?"

"Well, actually, the story goes that my dad made it." I knew the story well. Orson called it one of his best memories. That memory, and the feelings associated with it, were why he became a knight. Just like Dad. "Dad had been off-duty, to help Mom out while she recovered from giving birth to me. Cleaning, cooking, watching Monica… those sorts of things. But then there was a bandit attack on the road, so of course, he went to help. That's just what knights do. Orson was one of the few survivors. His parents didn't make it."

"And your father brought him home."

"He did, along with the other survivors. But Orson… he kept complaining about the cold. He'd been horribly cold afterwards, and nothing could warm him." Orson said that, in retrospect, he was probably lonely and depressed, because his parents were gone and he was around strangers, but he hadn't really experienced loneliness like that before. So, all he could think was 'cold'. "So, my dad made him a quilt. This one. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Well, it's a bit bigger now. It had to be extended over the years, to account for Orson's growing." But the core was still the quilt Dad had made him. Orson couldn't bear to let it go. "He said the quilt always reminded him of 'home'. He would never feel lonely when he had it. I would've thought…" I would've thought he'd have it with him, at least. If there was one thing, _one thing_ , in this entire townhouse that he'd take to the palace, it would be this. But here it was, dusty and smelling like it was in need of a good wash. "Ha…"

Eirika stepped to my side and tugged me into a hug. We both sat on the bed and she gently rocked me as I clung. I couldn't cry. I couldn't shake. But I needed this comfort. I needed the hug. This hurt. This hurt more than I thought it would. Orson, you big idiot…

* * *

It was decided that a handful of people would move in immediately, and that Colm and Rennac would begin picking locks in the morning while the first group worked on gathering allies, making plans, and getting the rest in. Those who didn't move in tonight camped on the outskirts of Ivroria, to monitor patrols and the like. Or something. That was what I understood, but gods knew I was out of it when it was explained to me, and it didn't help that I ended up going to bed not long after.

But perhaps because I went to bed so early, I ended up waking up in the middle of the night. I pushed myself up slowly, blinking blearing as I tried to process my surroundings, one of the guest rooms. I'd barred everyone from Orson's bedroom, but the rest of the rooms had been cleaned enough for us to sleep, providing we grouped up. I ended up sharing a room with Eirika, as per usual, and a quick looked proved she was fast asleep. Even when I stood up, she didn't stir, so I just fixed the blankets over Eirika and headed out of the room and towards the stairs. As I walked, I marveled at how large it was. When I'd first heard about the size, I had teased Orson mercilessly that he'd just wanted the extra space for whatever kids he and Monica would have. Now, though, it was a reminder of things that might've been. At least more of us would be able to work out of here.

Sighing, I made my way down the stairs, careful to move slowly to try and not wake anyone up. However, to my surprise, I found I wasn't the only one awake once I reached the first floor. Seth was standing in the mostly cleaned living room, staring at a spot on the wall. Or maybe seeing something that wasn't there anymore. I had no idea.

"Seth?" I called. It took a moment for him to glance back at me. "Evening?"

"Evening," he replied with a slight smile. It was sad and pained, surprisingly so. "My apologies. I can't get over how cold the place is."

"…How about some tea?" I headed to the kitchen, thankfully very clean. It had been a priority for… whoever ended up cleaning. I only knew there was a clean kettle and some tea leftover. "The packets are a little old, but they should still be good."

"That sounds good." He followed me into the kitchen, but didn't sit down at the table there. Instead, he stood by one of the windows, looking out while I fussed with the kettle and stove to get some water boiling. And nearly forgot the water, but I remembered just in time. "What has you awake, Emma?"

"I'm not sure. I just woke up." As the kettle began to slowly heat up, I began hunting for two clean mugs. It took a couple of tries before I found some. "So, Forde mentioned visiting here a lot. I suppose you did as well?"

"It used to be common knowledge among the knights that if you needed to leave the palace for a bit, or if you were out and had too much to drink, you could just come to Orson's house and be welcomed." Seth smiled nostalgically, eyes soft. "And when Monica visited, you practically had a line because everyone knew that you could get a home cooked meal here, with a smile and a laugh."

"So that's why she always made sure to bring extra spices and herbs whenever she went to visit Orson." I set the mugs on the counter and thumbed through the packets before just choosing two at random. They were all herbal teas, and even though they were old, I could smell the lavender. "Forde mentioned using this place as a sanctuary. Did you?"

"I did. The first time was because the court was singing one of those stupid songs of my 'exploits'…" He scowled and I had to laugh. "It was one that nearly resulted in me dying, along with a good friend. It always irritates me to hear it. But, since we were at the court, I tried to not show it."

"Yet Orson saw it anyway."

"He did. So, as soon as we could get away with leaving, he dragged me out of the palace and to here. Made some tea and declared 'go ahead and complain. While we are here, we are not on duty'."

"Sounds like him."

"Yes. He was always like that. I'd come here whenever I needed a breather, or when Orson noticed I was beginning to drag." Seth laughed, a strangely rueful sound. "It also wasn't uncommon for me to find Prince Ephraim here, sitting at the table and listening intently to whatever story Orson was telling. He snuck out often, but almost as often, he was safe and sound, just listening to Orson. I never learned if Orson went out to find him, or if Prince Ephraim just always made sure to come here."

"I never knew that. But, then again, everyone is careful to not talk about Orson around me, unless it's needed, and Orson was never one to brag about what he saw as basic decency." Giving sanctuary to people was just like him. He looked up a lot to Dad and, well… that's what Dad did. "He'd brag about others, though. I heard a lot about you, growing up. You two worked together a lot."

"We're of similar skill, and we're not that far apart in age, so we trained together often." Seth looked at me with a kind smile. "Though, I suppose I am worried about what he said about me."

"Always good things. The only complaints I ever heard was that you took things too seriously and needed to not be quite so dutiful." Of course, hearing that now, after all Orson had done… well, it felt like the worst advice ever. "But you two knew each other for a while, huh?"

"Longer than I'd like to admit."

"Aw, are you self-conscious about your age?" I managed a grin, and he actually rolled his eyes. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Seth. You're not _quite_ an old man yet."

"Didn't Monica teach you to be respectful to your elders?"

"Maybe, but I'm good at conveniently forgetting those manners lectures." Both of us laughed, and while it didn't sound quite 'right', it didn't sound 'wrong' either. "Hey, Seth? I did have a point to that statement."

"About how long I've known Orson?"

"Yeah." I studied him closely, just finding myself curious. "Was it really a coincidence that of all the places you ended up, it was my house?"

"Well, yes and no." Seth shrugged, looking back outside. "I hadn't planned on it when Princess Eirika and I fled Ivroria. But when I realized that we needed to get off the road if we were to have a chance of escaping, we were near the turnoff to Rosewatch."

"Have you visited?"

"Once. You were out in the fields, I think. Orson was sad he didn't get to see you." He smiled slightly, laughing at the memory. "I have the turnoff memorized, though, because whenever we had a job that went that way, he'd always pause and gaze longingly in that direction. I'd remind him we had a job, and he'd sigh and continue on."

"It wouldn't have hurt you to have visited for a moment." But it did seem to fit them both. "So, it was coincidence that you happened to be near."

"Yes, and it was coincidence that Princess Eirika picked you house. I was too delierious from the wound and infection to really find the path. I'm still impressed that I managed to even get us close."

"Yeah, I remember how bad off you were." The kettle began whistling finally, and so I set about pouring the water into the mugs and dampening the stove's fire. "Are you okay?"

"We've already talked about the injury."

"Not that." I passed him a mug and kept one for myself. "About Orson."

"Ah." He fell silent, looking down at the tea as it slowly began to steep. "I've… honestly, Emma, I've simply been thinking of Orson as someone already dead. The Orson I knew, the Orson who was my friend, would've never have done any of this."

"Does that work?"

"Not really, no." At least he was honest. "But I'll do my duty. For his sake, and mine." He smiled warmly. "And for your sake, future queen."

"That's…" I went red and he laughed. It was the first laugh that had sounded 'right'. "Oh, you've been waiting to tease me about that, haven't you?"

"Perhaps a little."

He continued teasing me a little, before telling me stories from when Eirika and Ephraim were children, and he was their 'bodyguard', really a glorified babysitter. They were light, and cheerful enough to make us both smile and relax as we drank the tea. We both needed it.

* * *

The cemetery was devoid of people. I was grateful for that, because it meant I didn't have to be quite as vigilant on keeping the hood of my cloak up and thus, could focus more on not dropping my flowers.

"Thank you for coming with me," I told Garcia as we walked down the paths, heading for my family's graves. I'd begged to go, since I hadn't been since Monica's funeral, and Garcia volunteered to accompany me, so that I wasn't there alone. I'd asked if Forde and Franz wanted to come too, to visit their parents, but they both decided they'd wait until after Renais was free. They'd actually visited not long before all this happened. "I really do appreciate it."

"I was thinking about coming to visit Alex too, Emma," Garcia replied. He smiled sadly and looked up at the clouding sky. "Haven't been since I left the knights."

"I hope you're not thinking Dad would be mad about that. You've been raising your son. If anything, he'd scold you for not doing so."

"Funnily enough, he _did_ scold me for not spending more time at home." He looked at me, and his smile warmed. "He'd be proud of you, by the way. He and Tabitha both."

"You think so?" I smiled back shyly, hiding behind my bundle of flowers. "I'm glad to hear that."

We fell silent again, having nothing more to really say, and eventually, we reached the graves, all three of them clustered together. I knelt down and divided up my flowers for them before brushing off the worse of the dirt and pulling up the weeds. As I did, though, I noticed something that broke my heart. Monica's tombstone… it was cracked and chipped around the base.

"Aw, damn…" Garcia muttered. He leaned over my shoulder, frowning at the damage. "That's just wrong."

"Do you think people have attacked the grave, because she was Orson's wife?" I asked sadly. I traced over the chips and cracks, fighting off the urge to cry. "That this was on purpose?"

"Could be." Garcia patted my back. "We'll get her a new one, once Ivroria is free."

"We'll have to anyway." Her tombstone proudly declared she was Orson's wife, but with him turning traitor… "I miss her. I miss them."

"You always miss the departed. You just learn how to live with the scars, eventually."

"Or you don't and go mad. Like Orson." I traced the letters on Monica's tombstone. "I should've supported him better. I shouldn't have been so caught up in my own grief."

"Why not? He lost his wife, yes, but you lost your sister, while still recovering from losing friends." He gripped my shoulder and I looked up to see him looking very serious. "What happened to Orson isn't your fault, Emma."

I smiled up at him, touched but not quite sure I could believe it. He nodded, understanding, and we both fell silent to 'talk' to the dead. I mouthed prayers and reassurances to my family, though I wasn't sure what exactly to say to them. I kind of just rambled, silently, and when I decided to stop, the wind suddenly kicked up, tugging playfully at my hair, much like how Monica would when she wanted to tease me or how Dad would ruffle my hair.

"Ha…" Garcia chuckled, looking up at the sky. "That was odd."

"The wind blowing?" I asked, frowning. There was always wind, though I had to admit that it had reminded me of my family. "Why was that odd?"

"Not the wind. I just thought I heard Alex on it, telling me to stop being so serious and just go kick some ass."

"Did he do that a lot?"

"Not really. Normally he was telling me to calm down." He grimaced. "Ross gets his hotheadedness honest, I'm afraid."

"Somehow, I can see that." I had to laugh, though it was soft. It felt wrong to laugh fully in a graveyard. "Do you want to visit Sir Felix's grave?"

"No, I'll wait until Forde and Franz come. Mostly because I don't know where it is here." Garcia smiled bitterly. "Like I said, I haven't been here since I left service. Though, in Felix's case, I didn't find out that he died until after his funeral. And it hurt too much to visit."

"It sucks, being the one left behind."

"It does. But, we survive, and we heal, and we forge our own lives."

"Or go mad."

"Or go mad. But neither of us are that type. We already would've gone mad if that was the case." He offered me his hand and pulled me up. "We should probably get back, though. Come on."

Reluctantly, I followed him out of the graveyard, knowing he was right even if I wanted to just sit there by the graves for a while longer. But that might've been why he was insistent, and why he was careful to keep a grip on me, even though the crowds weren't large enough for that. But, regardless, we returned to the townhouse without running into trouble, and Garcia jumped right back into work, helping to evacuate civilians into much safer areas. Normally, I'd be doing some sort of aerial patrol to get an idea of the enemies' movements, but Cormag took that over for the day, so I had some unexpected free time.

I debated a bit about what to do for a moment before deciding to have a little bit of fun. So, I walked down the halls of the perfectly cleaned townhouse, all the way to Orson's former office, now Ephraim's. Ephraim was hard at work, of course, reading through information and civilian complaints. They weren't entirely happy with Ephraim or Eirika, of course, but they were willing to give _anyone_ a chance if it meant ousting Orson. And both Eirika and Ephraim were absolutely determined to not betray that trust. So, Ephraim did all the paperwork he needed to, while Eirika talked with the civilians, learning firsthand just what they needed.

Thus, Ephraim was completely absorbed in his work, not noticing at all that I'd walked in until I made it behind him and kissed his check. "I'm back," I told him needlessly, laughing at how red his face became. "Did you miss me?"

"Always," he replied, smiling. He twisted to smile at me, and I leaned against his chair, smiling. "You're a lovely sight."

"Lovelier than reports and maps, I'm sure."

"Lovelier than anything, really."

"That's…" I went red and he grinned. "Argh, why does that work on me?"

"Because I'm very, very lucky." He reached up to caress my cheek, laughing. "How else would I have caught your eye?"

"It wasn't luck for that. Or just luck."

"Really? So, why did you?"

"Nope. You have to be _very_ good to get that out of me." I went redder, though, and glanced away. This really wasn't very fair, but honestly, I just got far too embarrassed and tongue-tied when I _did_ try. "Though, I suppose you are being good." I eyed his stack of papers, gauging the size. "Is that twice the amount of papers as yesterday?"

"Yep." He sighed gustily, picking up one. "You only get more information until you move out. Not less."

"I suppose." Still, that was a lot. "Please tell me that they're at least organized."

"Nope."

"Ephraim, seriously?" I picked up a stack and began organizing them myself, separating out civilian things from spies. "You are allowed to make the work easier on yourself, you know."

"I just dove into it, really." He smiled ruefully. "My recklessness showing. Along with my stubbornness."

"Maybe a bit of pride as well." I smirked at him and he shrugged, accepting the teasing. "Whatever. I love you."

"I love you too." He caught my hand and kissed it. I blushed again, and tried desperately to hide it. His smirk told me how miserably I failed. "Thank you."

Still blushing too much to properly reply, I simply continued organizing the papers for him, starting first by 'spy' and 'civilian', and then separating them out to their own little categories. Spies became 'outside the city', 'Ivroria', 'castle', while the civilian ones separated more by what sort of things they asked for. Cleaning supplies for shelters, for instance, or first aid kits. Things that looked like they could wait were tucked at the bottom, while more urgent things were on top. The particularly urgent ones, like some potentially poisonous snakes making a home in one of the shelters, I passed directly to him.

After a while of working in silence, Ephraim snagged my hand again. He didn't kiss it this time, though, but simply tugged to catch my attention. "Emma?" he began softly. He looked very serious, but there was some hesitancy in his eyes. "Where do you want to be during the battle?"

"Huh?" I replied, mostly because I didn't know how else to react. That was… that was an odd question. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to be part of the group that fights Orson? Do you want to be as far away as possible?" He made sure to hold my gaze as he asked. "Where do you want to be?"

"Why are you…?" It took me a second to realize just what he was asking. Or, more importantly, why. He was asking… he was asking, really, what I'd need. Did I need to be among the ones killing Orson? Did I need to be away? "Oh, Ephraim." I leaned down to kiss his cheek again. "You're the sweetest."

"That's… um…" He blushed again, but did desperately try to maintain some form of seriousness. "Emma."

"Ephraim, all I need is to see the body." I sat on the arm of his chair and turn my hand so that I could hold his, carefully intertwining our fingers. His hands were callused, and there were angry red impressions on his fingers from the pen, showing how hard he'd been working. "Other than that, I want to be stationed wherever I am most useful."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. But, as I said, it's sweet of you to take that into account." I gave him a stern look, though, leaning down so that I was a little more level here. "Though, I am hoping you're asking the others about it."

"I am. You're just the only one here. But Seth, Forde, Kyle… I'm making sure to ask them too."

"Good." I smiled at him. "They deserve the chance too."

"Of course." He stared at me still and smiled. "May I kiss you?"

"Huh?"

"I would very much like to kiss you. May I?"

"Ha… of course." I leaned in a bit to make it easier for him and smiled into the kiss at how gentle it was. I chased him when he pulled back, kissing him a little more intently, and he responded by kissing me fiercely, actually standing to give him a better angle. Laughing a bit, I leaned against the desk as he kissed me again and actually hopped up to sit on it as my knees began giving out. His kisses were still a little clumsy, but even in their fierceness, they were incredibly sweet and warm and…

"Ephraim, do you have… oh freaking hell, really?" Innes's voice startled us both and we broke apart to see him in the doorway, eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Make out later, damn it, we've work to do," he growled. "Seriously, wait for a break."

"To be fair, I wasn't expecting anyone to just come barging in," Ephraim replied. His breath was a little ragged and he was a little bit disheveled, particularly his hair and shirt. My hands might've wandered a bit. "Most people knock, you know."

"Still, you do need to get back to work," I noted. I reached up to smooth down his hair and fix his shirt. He caught my hand and kissed my palm before helping me off his desk. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Lock the door next time you two decide to make out," Innes half-suggested, half-begged, probably mostly to remind us that he was still here. At our unrepentant grins, he sighed gustily, but caught my shoulder as I passed him to head out the door. "You might want to fix your shirt before seeing others."

"Ah, right," I murmured. Now I was blushing, but I also felt bouncy and giddy. I did make sure to smooth out my shirt, though. "Sorry for delaying things?"

"Just go on so that he stops being distracted."

"Fine, fine." I rolled my eyes and blew Ephraim a kiss before actually leaving. Ephraim's laughter followed after me, even after Innes closed the door. Of course, walking down the hall left me, again, with unexpected free time. But, a quick glance out the window showed that it was getting close to dinner, so…

"Petal, there you are." Joshua jogged down the hall to catch up with me, and he took one look at my hair and clothes before grinning. "Well, well, well…" he half-sang, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "Enjoying time with your boyfriend, petal?"

"Maybe a little?" I replied, feigning innocence. For all of a second. Then I grinned up at him and he laughed. "That's not a bad thing, right? Even though things are so serious?"

"If it's a bad thing, then many of us are guilty. Natasha and me, for instance. Tethys and Gerik. Neimi and Colm. Why, even Amelia and Franz, though they're still in shy smile stages." He ruffled my hair, mussing it up further. "You're okay. You deserve to be happy, especially right now."

"Thanks, brother." I let the grin soften to a smile, touched that he made a point to say I deserved happiness. Even with the giddiness, I felt guilty. But I was slowly moving past it. "Anyway, how are you liking Renais? How are the Jehannans doing?"

"We're good. Most are eager to get into battle, but no need to worry about hotheads. The older ones are reining in the younger. The main problem is that they want to spar more than we can let them, for now."

"Good." I nudged his side. "So, you were looking for me? What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to spend time with my darling petal, seeing as I'm not busy. For once." He shrugged. "Nothing else, really. For once, things aren't going incredibly wrong."

"That's rare." But it did make me happy that he'd spend at least part of his break with me. "Well, in that case, I was thinking about cooking. Want to be a taste tester?"

"Always." He laughed. "Lady Luck is smiling on me today, clearly."

"I'm glad you approve." I snagged his hand and started dragging him to the kitchen. "Come on, then! Before an emergency steals you away, brother!"

* * *

On the day of the actual assault, I was more than a little annoyed. Why? Ephraim and Eirika insisted on confronting Orson openly to see if he'd surrender. While wanting to avoid a fight was admirable, and very… well, very Eirika at least… I was still annoyed.

"I can't believe they're doing this," I grumbled, glowering down at where I could barely see them. Fliers were set up high in case of a sudden assault, which just made me nervy. Which didn't help my mood at all. "I told them that Orson has poisoned daggers, damn it. Reminded them, rather. Yet what does their plan do? Make them targets perfect for throwing knives."

"That's why you have permission to fire freely," Tana gently reminded me. Fliers were split between 'east' and 'west', on either side of the main street to the castle, with one wyvern and one pegasus on each side. I'd requested Tana with me, because I knew she could keep me in good humor. "If you think he's going for one, you can shoot."

"I'd feel better if they didn't do this at all." I wished they'd just do some sort of ambush tactics or something. But this was the plan that Ephraim and Innes had come up with, and that Seth and Joshua had approved. I could've shaken them all. "Way better."

"It'll be okay." Tana flew Achaeus closer so that she could gently bump shoulders with me. Hugging would be a little too awkward at the moment, but the affection was still there. "They know the warning. I know they listened. And it's a good distraction."

"If they'd at least wear helmets, I'd feel better, but who in this army _ever_ wears helmets anymore?" Even I didn't. My old one had long since dented to the point that it was better used as scrap metal. "We have Restore staves, right?"

"Yes, and L'arachel is right in front with everyone, with that and a mend staff. Providing that there's not a headshot…"

"And they're not wearing helmets…!" I growled and lightly punched the front of my saddle to bleed off some frustration. Brynhildr crooned to try and reassure me. "Argh! Why do I love these idiots?"

"Because we're lucky?" Tana grinned and I sighed, but relaxed and smiled. This was exactly why I asked to be stationed with her. "Oh, hey, speaking of love, you think that Ephraim will bring up your relationship?"

"I told him that if he announced it in this way, I'd hurt him." Mostly, though, I was glad she could bring it up without a slight wince. She'd been the second person I told, right after Eirika, and while she'd been happy, I'd seen the pain. Now, though, it seemed her happiness for us, and her love of teasing, had eased most of it away. "Gods, look at us. Right before a big turning point in our fight, and we're talking like we're gossiping at lunch."

"Nothing wrong with that~" She winked and I laughed. "After all, so long as we're serious when… oh, that's some timing."

I almost asked, but then I saw that there was movement on the balcony, a figure stepping out onto it. My breath caught when I saw it was Orson, but he looked… he looked bad. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a while. He looked like he hadn't slept much. He looked… honestly, he looked like he did right before he tried to commit suicide, in those horrible days right after Monica's funeral.

"Well, this is as brash and hotheaded as I would expect from you, Prince Ephraim," he commented coolly, his voice only carrying because of the silence. He stopped right by the edge of the railing and looked down on them. It was a disdainful look, an expression I had never seen him wear. "I suppose you must be convinced that this is a battle you can win."

"You should really take mocking lessons from Emma," Ephraim retorted instantly, voice dry. From up here, I couldn't see his expression but I knew it was droll. "She's done a far better job at it."

"Are you trying to use my sister against me?"

"No, I think you did a fine enough job turning her against you. I'm commenting that your mocking abilities pales in comparison to hers."

"Though, that is not why we've done this, Orson," Eirika added. She and Ephraim stood side by side, in the main road in front of the gates. As they talked, I knew others were getting into position, but I still wished they'd gone for a plan that didn't involve them as bait. "Orson, won't you please surrender? You were one of our finest knights, and I am sorry we did not support you as we needed."

"Pretty words don't erase the filth, Princess Eirika," Orson replied. He kept his voice even, almost polite, but there was definitely a trace of mockery in it. "Apologies after the fact don't change anything."

"No, they don't. But that doesn't stop me from being sorry, and from wanted to fix my mistakes." Eirika stepped forward slightly, and Ephraim stopped her from walking any closer. "So, Orson, will you not try to let Ephraim and I fix our mistakes?"

"There is nothing either of you can do. Never has been."

"You didn't always believe that, Orson." Seth stepped out of the shadows then, and I was startled. The original plan had involved only Eirika and Ephraim being the distraction. But, given what I knew, perhaps he couldn't just stand back. Orson might've been Ephraim's guard, Ephraim and Eirika's knight, but he had been Seth's _friend_. "You once talked happily of the Renais you felt they would create," Seth countered gently, looking up at Orson. He was mounted, because of the plan. Ephraim and Eirika stepped to the side to let him have this moment. "You once believed in the future."

"I was wondering where you were, Seth. You're never far from them when danger is near," Orson said. Unlike with Ephraim and Eirika, though, there was no mockery or exasperation in his voice. It was just genuine respect. "You're an impressive knight, Seth. You would sacrifice everything for king and country, with not even a moment's pause. It's a pitiful, unrewarding life, through and through."

"It is my change, Orson, and my hope. It was once yours as well."

"So, you still believe."

"The burden of protecting the people is overwhelming. It requires a person of extraordinary character." Seth sat tall on his horse, a dignified picture of Renais's greatest knight. It contrasted sharply with Orson's appearance. "But Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika have that. I have always thought so."

"Ha…" Orson shook his head, smiling in amusement. "I've never associated you with blind idealism, Seth."

"It is not blindness or idealism. It is my truth. It pains me that your grief has darkened your world to the point that you can no longer see it."

Orson replied. I knew he did, because I saw his mouth move, and I saw Tana roll her eyes. But I saw something else that made all the rest of it drain away. It was a simple 'twist'. A twist. Orson twisted his arm slightly, a barely noticeable movement. Just a bit 'odd', except I knew it wasn't odd at all. I knew that was a specific movement to free up one of his knives.

So, I brought up my bow in an instance, and aimed the arrow for his head and neck. But I… I couldn't release the arrow. I couldn't. My hand shook, but no matter how much I resolved myself to it, I couldn't get it to release the arrow. Not until I changed my target to the less-immediately-lethal arm. Only then could I release the arrow and I flinched without meaning to when it thudded into his shoulder.

He yelled and jerked from the pain, knife going flying and clanging against the stone ground of the balcony. Orson glared at the arrow, frowning, before looking up. And he froze, because there I was, bow still in hand, doing my best to keep my expression impassive. I wondered how I looked to him. Flying on a wyvern, wielding a bow, dressed in black and dark grey leather armor, hair braided back… I thought I looked very different than the Emma who never went to war. I thought I looked very different than the Emma who went to Renvall.

Regardless of how I looked, he continued staring. At least, he did until a couple more arrows thudded into him, courtesy of Neimi and Innes. Orson, wisely, ducked inside to avoid more arrows, just as Ephraim yelled for the gates to open. They opened easily, because we had the Jehannans sneak in, and so our forces charged inside. Seth took center with the cavalry. Ephraim took the west, while Eirika took the east. Tana and I should've flown off to do our parts, but Tana made no move to do that, and I… Well, I…

"Emma?" Tana called gently. She rested a hand on my cheek, frowning at how tense I was. "Emma, do you need to…?"

"I'm just cursing myself," I muttered. I gripped my bow tightly enough that I swore my bones creaked. "I had a good shot."

"I saw. You got his shoulder!" She giggled, beaming at me. "That was so cool!"

"But I had a _better_ one. At his _head_." But I didn't take it. I couldn't take it. I might've saved all of us trouble, but instead I…

"Oh, Emma…" Tana's smile softened as she realized the problem, and took my hands, loosening my grip on the bow and making sure to catch it. "Even if you did, the Grado soldiers would still fight, you know. They don't really obey him."

"Right, but…"

"The only 'buts' around here are our very nice asses." Tana's joke, and unexpected curse, made me burst into laughter. "Got you~!" She rested her hand on my cheek again and grinned. "Relax, Emma. You protected them. That's enough."

"I… okay." I didn't quite feel that way, but I could believe her. So long as she did believed in me, I felt I could push through. "We should go with our next step, huh?"

"Yep. But only if you're up for it."

"I can. I promise."

"Then let's go!"

We both arced around and flew over the city, hunting for Innes and Neimi. They'd been set up on roofs to have a good angle and ample time to aim at Orson for their own shots, though they avoided headshots to maximize accuracy. The plan had originally been for Tana to pick up Innes and I would pick up Neimi. However, the enemy had moved more quickly than anticipated, and Innes had more enemies near than Neimi. So, Tana and I switched, and I had Brynhildr screech and tear into the closest soldiers before hopping onto the roof when Innes was.

Innes, for his part, took the change in mount with ease, climbing on without any complaint. "The plan had me dropped off onto the balcony where Orson was," he explained as we lifted off. "Along with Gerik's group. I'm assuming Orson has already retreated to a more secured area for treatment, so we can secure those higher floors."

"Got it," I replied, pulled Brynhildr around to head for the balcony and the gates. But the sight just reminded me of… "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"I had a better shot and didn't take it."

"…Ah." There was an awkward pause before Innes reached up and gripped my shoulder. "A wound like that on his dominant arm means he won't be able to fight as effectively. It also opened his guard for Neimi and I to cripple him further. You did well."

It was a bit of an awkward comfort, but the fact that he even tried meant a lot, so I smiled at him over my shoulder before dropping him off on the balcony. I then turned towards the gates to pick up Gerik, as he was the first one I saw. He noticed my off mood instantly, but didn't say anything. He just reached around to give me a hug, and an understanding smile. I wondered if there had been times in the past where he had a 'good shot' and couldn't take it. I'd ask him after the battle. Him and Joshua, and maybe Gilliam, Garcia, and Seth. They had a lot of experience fighting, after all. Maybe they could show me how to feel better about it.

* * *

The battle outside was very chaotic for a number of reasons. Mainly because it was just us four fliers tearing through the skies and preventing reinforcements. Everyone else was inside the castle, because that's where the bulk of their forces were. Our job was to make sure they didn't have to worry about anyone besides those in the castle.

Grinding my teeth, I had Brynhildr flip upside down as we dodged another wyvern rider and I fired an arrow through their neck. Brynhildr twisted to rake her claws through the wyvern's wing, just to make sure, and we continued flying above the city, looking for our next target. It was difficult, because I was one of two fliers actually on 'enemy' duty. Parts of the city were on fire, and so two of us had been diverted to fire duty. I had no idea who else, but I guessed Vanessa. There was no time to check if my guess was correct, though. I barely had the time to be thankful for the fact that we completed the civilian evacuations. Some would be homeless, likely, but we at least didn't have to pull off rescues in the middle of all of this. That would've been madness.

During a turn while checking for more enemies, Brynhildr suddenly screeched in horrible pain and began dropping. I bent low over her and threw my weight to help her twist and manage a hard landing on one of the houses. My bones rattling from the impact, I quickly unbuckled myself and dismounted to try and determine what happened. I found it instantly; Brynhildr got hit by a ballista bolt, right at the wing joint where the armor didn't _quite_ protect her. Of all the damn luck.

I dug my heels in and pulled on the ballista bolt, Brynhildr whimpering the whole time. When it started moving, I belatedly wondered if I shouldn't have pulled the bolt out, since you shouldn't pull arrows out, but Brynhildr leaned sharply away to help me, and it came out with a spurt of blood, followed by a little bit of dribbling. I dropped the bolt on my feet, and almost went to my pack to get a vulnerary or elixir, but Brynhildr growled and used her wing to knock me down. A good thing too, since a ballista bolt flew over us, close enough for the wind to ruffle my hair. I looked out and saw I had a good shot at the ballista user. But there were also some wyverns heading our way.

"Brynhildr, head up," I ordered. Brynhildr nodded and launched herself into the air, free to use her full strength and fury without having to worry about me. A good thing, since I could see how labored her flying was thanks to the injury. Being able to fight without worrying about me was the only way she would survive a fight at this point.

So, I focused on shooting. First the ballista user, with two arrows through the neck, followed by targeting anyone that looked like they were carrying a bow. No one really thought to look up at the roof, only checking the skies, so I had time to pick my shots, and take out enemies quickly as Brynhildr mauled the wyvern riders overhead.

"Emma?" Cormag's worried, mildly desperate actually, shouting caught my ear at some point, but I shot a few more enemies before looking up to see him flying near Brynhildr. Genarog was actually a bit under her, taking some of the weight off her injured wing. "Emma?!"

"Down here!" I called, waving. He looked around me a bit before finding me, and smiling in relief. "She got hit by a ballista! Can you help me check it out?"

"Yeah, but let's get to a more covered area." He had Genarog fly down and held out a hand. "Up we go. I don't want you flying on Brynhildr until we check."

"Sounds good." I took the hand and swung onto Genarog behind him, noticing something immediately. "Wow, damn, he really is a lot smaller. He can carry both of us, right?"

"He's not _that_ much weaker than Brynhildr, you know." Cormag rolled his eyes and had us up in the air again, situated a little bit under Brynhidr to help take the weight off her wing. I reached over to pet her, reassuring her that everything was fine. She tried to croon to reassure _me_ , but as her flying became more and more labored, it was hard to do anything but worry.

It was an absolute relief when we found a cleared area, probably some sort of park, where we could tend to her. A quick check proved that it wasn't a bad injury per se, just messy and in an awkward spot. Based on placement, the angle of the injury, and the long scratch against the armor, it looked like it had just been an unlucky deflection. Without the armor, it would've been a shot through the heart.

"Well, it seems like General Glen saved me again, huh?" I murmured as we bandaged up the injury as best as we could. It really was in an awkward place, like trying to bandage the webbing between the thumb and the rest of the fingers. "Freaking hell."

"He'd be laughing," Cormag replied. We got the last of the bandaging secured and Cormag sighed, petting Brynhildr's snout. "We should really get a healer among us fliers. Or a lot more long-ranged healing options for us. Especially if we're going to press into Grado."

"You want to learn?"

"I have _no_ ability with magic. At all. Do you?"

"I have to keep up training with lances and bows. I'm not adding a third. I like being able to laugh with my friends and kiss my boyfriend, thank you very much."

"Okay point. Maybe Vanessa or Tana?"

"Maybe."

"There you guys are!" Vanessa and Tana landed, and Tana immediately hopped off to run to me, give me a hug, and then coo worriedly at Brynhildr while Cormag and I finished bandaging. "Everything okay?" Vanessa continued, dismounting as well. She had a cut across her neck, and she winced as she rolled her shoulder. "Gods, we really need more healers if we're going to be doing things like this." She frowned when Cormag and I immediately started laughing. "Mind sharing the joke?"

"Emma and I were literally just complaining about the lack of healers," Cormag explained, grinning. It took a bit for both of us to calm down. "So you two were looking for us?"

"Yes, mostly because we have the city and skies secure. Finally. But, you two haven't answered me. Everything okay?"

"Brynhildr got hit by a ballista."

"Ballista can all die in a fire," Tana growled, petting Brynhildr's face. Brynhildr licked her cheek to reassure her that she really was okay. "Achaeus and I almost got shot down too. Thanks for the warning, Cormag."

"No, that one was all Genarog," Cormag immediately corrected. He taped down the last of the bandaging and stepped back. "He started shrieking before I even saw the bolt. I was preoccupied with a wyvern rider decided my face needed a lance through it."

"Glad you decided against it. Your face is nice just as it is."

"That's…"

"Seriousness now, please," Vanessa interrupted. I playfully pouted at her, because I found that conversation strangely interesting, but she shook her head and pointed to the castle. "Much as I understand the battle-fever making all of us a little bouncy and scatterbrained now that we're not in a fight."

"Yes, yes, Vanessa," Tana sighed. She sulked a little, but I focused on Cormag. Who was blushing a bit. He caught me looked and glowered, but I just grinned back. "What was it that you wanted again?"

"We should let them know inside that our part is done, so that they have less to worry about. So, we need a messenger."

"Ah."

"Why don't I go?" I volunteered. All three of them looked immediately worried, so I pointed to Brynhildr. "I'm grounded. That's an injury right at the wing joint. Now, if you guys don't mind that, sure, but the choice is basically 'three fliers to do patrols' or 'two fliers to do patrols with one grounded person'."

"Well, yes…" Vanessa agreed reluctantly. She still was hesitant. "But will you be okay?"

"I'm not going to go hunt out Orson or anything."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried you'll freeze just long enough for someone to hurt you, Emma." Vanessa shook her head, braid swaying even after the movement ended. "Regardless of how resolved you are, this is your brother. He might be mad, but…"

"That's…" I sighed, but smiled. Really, everyone was far too kind. "I'll be okay. I plan on just going in and then leaving. Promise. With luck, I won't even have to fight."

"Take your lance, just in case."

"Of course."

"If you get turned around and lost, just head to a window and call out," Tana advised with a wink. She came over to hug me, though, and I could tell by how she clung that she was worried. "The second and third floors have a bunch."

"And we'll want to do one more patrol around to be certain, so Emma, wait until we give you another all-clear," Vanessa ordered. She gave her Titania an onceover before mounting up again. "Let's do this quickly."

* * *

Castle Renais was a damn maze. It really was. I was lost within seconds. However, by sheer luck, I didn't run into any enemy patrols and the fighting was loud enough that I could just follow the sound to the others.

I poked my head inside a large room, perhaps an entry hall, and looked around curiously for whoever happened to be closest. "Franz!" I called when I saw him. I waved when he jumped and looked around wildly. "Hey, over here!"

"Ah, Emma!" Franz replied. He jogged over, wiping sweat and blood out of his eyes. "What are you doing inside?"

"Vanessa wanted to let you all know that we have the outside clear, and we're going to continue doing patrols. Brynhildr took a bad hit, so I volunteered to deliver it." I shrugged, and glanced around. "How's it going here?"

"We're doing well! Most of the castle is secured, actually. We think Orson is in the throne room, and we haven't visited the royal wing yet, but otherwise…" Franz shrugged, but smiled. "So, deliver the message for you?"

"If you don't mind. I'd like to get outside as soon as possible." I knew Tana, Cormag, and Vanessa would worry badly until I was. "If you happen to deliver it to Ephraim, and he looks like he needs a laugh, pass on my love? And if you happen to deliver it to Eirika, tell her that I'm okay, and that we need to make up for the missed market trip. It should make her laugh."

"I will." He paused, for some reason. "Wait a second. I should've been politer."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm a knight of Renais, and-"

"Call me by title, and I will hurt you." I sighed gustily, barely resisting the urge to facepalm. Yeah, that part of being with Ephraim was going to be very annoying. But, hey, if it was the only annoyance, I could deal. Mostly. "Look, Seth doesn't change how he addresses me, and if prim and proper Seth doesn't change it."

"Oh, good. I'm used to calling you 'Emma'." Franz grinned. "I'll make sure the others know. But message first!"

"And staying alive first, okay?"

"Yep!" He disappeared into the chaos, and I sighed again, but this time with a smile. It was rather sweet of him to consider that. I supposed.

But with my message delivered, I got the hell out of the room as quickly as I could, intent on returning outside. As I headed down the hall, though, I had to duck down a different path as I came across a patrol. A large patrol that I didn't think I could just hide and wait for it to pass. So, since I knew I was lost anyway, I decided to just go down the different hallway to look for stairs or a window. Except I almost ran into another patrol. And then another. And then another. And then another. It was almost hilarious how many I ran into, considering I ran into none on the way in. Almost.

Grinding my teeth in frustration and exasperation, to the point that my jaw ached, I turned into a random room, wondering if I'd run into another patrol or if I'd finally get lucky. But it was neither. Instead, I froze, because… because this… of all the places I'd end up in this very large palace, of all the rooms I'd turn into… this was the throne room. It had large sections of the floor and walls gouged out, but the throne itself was intact. And sitting on the throne room, looking utterly bored, was Orson.

This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to see him alive again. I wasn't supposed to see him here.

"Emma?" Orson called. He stood up quickly, moving a bit stiffly from pain. But he smiled and, damn him, it was his normal, warm smile. "Emma! I'm glad to see you're well!"

I ran. I stared at him for a moment and then I ran. Unfortunately, though, the rapid footsteps behind me told me Orson was chasing. He might've even shouted for me, but my pulse was thudding too loudly in my ears for me to hear anything. I just focused entirely on hunting for any sign of a window or a staircase. Anything to get me out of here and away from here.

When I finally found a staircase, however, I managed to tangle up my feet and trip, hitting the ground hard. I scrambled up quickly, slipping a bit, and by that point, Orson had caught up and snatched my arm. I jerked out of his grip and stumbled away a few steps, turning to face him. He was bleeding. His wounds from earlier were bleeding, and when I looked, I could see a small blood trail, marking where he'd chased me. Because, of all the scenarios that could've happened, this was the one thing I didn't want.

"Well, you've gotten faster," Orson commented. He smiled so gently, and I felt like sobbing. "Still, this is good. Monica is in the royal wing, just upstairs. You can go see her, and-"

"Does nothing get through the fog in your head?" I snapped. I took another step back, gripping my lance tightly. "In case you have forgotten, I am here with Ephraim and Eirika to get you out of this castle and to try and save Renais."

"They won't be able too. Ephraim is too irresponsible. Eirika is too nice."

"Well, they'll do a better job than you. You're the one letting bandits slaughter people in front of their children." I glared at him, anger taking over. "Also, don't insult my best friend and boyfriend, okay? You don't get to do that, given what you've done."

"…Boyfriend?"

"I date whoever I please, thank you very much." I judged the situation and, in my anger, settled into a stance. I was far too pissed off by all of this. "But, tell you what. If you beat me, I'll let you take me to 'Monica'. But only then."

"Emma…" Orson's expression crumpled. "Please, she's just up-"

"Duel or let me leave. Because my sister is dead, and I am not mad enough to pretend otherwise. I'm not you."

Orson looked at me very sadly, but he did draw his sword. That just made me angrier, because… because it was like Seth said. The Orson I knew never would've done things like this. The Orson I knew died with Monica. So, with all my frustration, I swung into him and the duel began.

I had a lot of advantages with this. For one thing, I had a lance and, thus, a much longer reach than him. And Orson was used to fighting while mounted, and so was a bit weaker when dismounted. And he wasn't in the best of health. And his dominant arm was injured. And he was bleeding from his other arrow wounds. And he wasn't in full armor. And he wouldn't resort to his poisoned daggers. And he fought me like I was a young girl with no training, not a person who had been through war. And he didn't want to hurt me or worse, kill me. So, he held back, both unintentionally and intentionally. And I didn't.

Of course, that didn't mean I didn't take injuries, of course. Regardless of everything, Orson had a lot more experience on me. And, annoyingly, most of the wounds were on my legs, since they were one of the few places I wasn't armored now. But they weren't deep. They were only annoying. Because he wouldn't risk me dying.

I had no such qualms. I was furious at him for doing all of this. I was frustrated that I was in this situation. No small part of me was pissed off that he wouldn't take me seriously, despite everything I'd gone through. A very large part of me screamed for 'redemption', for failing to just shoot him dead when I could've and sparing myself all this nonsense.

So, when he let down his guard, I was sickeningly elated. I dodged one of his strikes, spun to build up momentum, and drove my lance straight through his abdomen with all that fury and frustration behind it. He gasped at the impact, and spat up blood instantly. His legs gave out almost instantly, and he slumped against me. His sword clattered to the ground next to us with a dull clang that echoed far too loudly in the silence that followed.

"How…?" he gasped out. His voice was wet, and he coughed up more blood. "How did you… get so skilled…?"

"Seth trained me," I retorted. I braced myself and tried to tug the lance out. It wouldn't move on the first jerk. "You always said he was a kind man, and a brutal teacher."

"I suppose…" On the second jerk, my lance was freed and he fell to his knees, blood spraying everywhere. I'd hit a lot of vital things. "I…"

"Why?" The question was out before I could stop it. "Why did you do this? Why do anything of this?!" My voice cracked. "Answer me, damn it!"

"I just wanted…" He laughed and fell to his side. He pushed himself on his back, slipping in his own blood, so that he could keep looking at me. "I just wanted… us to be happy again. I wanted to go back… to that time, when you and Monica… were both smiling."

"You…" Tears gathered in my eyes and I choked back a sob. I hadn't expected to start crying. I hadn't… "My idiot big brother… I could've learned to be happy again. In fact, I did. I don't deserve it, but I did."

"You do deserve it. You… and Monica…" He smiled, blood seeping from his mouth. "You deserved all the happiness in the world… I just… wanted you two… to have it…"

Those were his last words. I didn't know if he died right after or if he died a few breaths later. But those were his last words. And when I realized that, I collapsed, gasping and coughing as I tried, and failed, to ward off the sudden wave of tears that flooded me. I didn't expect to cry. I didn't expect… I thought I'd be okay with this. Well, maybe not okay-okay, but I didn't… I didn't expect to feel like I'd been punched… no, that I had been _trampled_.

After who the hell knew how long, though, that flood eased into something that I could manage. I coughed and choked a bit more, but I managed to get my breathing back under control, all of me under control. Once I was certain of that, mostly certain of that, I pushed myself up, using the lance as a crutch as my legs attempted to give out again. The burning pain crawling up reminded me of the injuries I'd suffered, but I made myself move and climb up the stairs. Absently, I noticed the tiny blood trail I was leaving, and hoped that no enemies would follow it. But I suppose they'd have to find Orson's corpse first, and that might distract them enough. Maybe.

I made it to the top of the stairs, aching and in pain, and I paused, noticing I had a couple of options for where I could go. Tana had mentioned that there were a lot of windows on this floor, but there were none where I could immediately see. I'd have to walk more, sadly. The question was, though, which way? I was a little too tired to decided, and yet, I knew I had to.

"…Ing…?"

A sound. A faint sound down the hall. That sound caught my attention and, stupid me, I followed it. Aside from that sound and my clunking footsteps, everything was silent. And there was no sign of windows, casting everything in shadow.

"…Ling…?"

I paused at an intersection, looking this way and that before deciding which way was louder, and continued on. I kicked up dust, like no one had been back here in a while. Or no one had cleaned here for a while.

"…Arling…?"

As the voice grew louder, my steps slowed, dread filling me. There was something familiar about the voice. There was something familiar about the tone, the inflection of the word. But I shouldn't be hearing it. I was never supposed to hear it again.

"…Darling…?"

I finally found a door that was cracked open and I pushed on it to walk inside. Unlike the hallways, this area was bright, sunlight streaming through the windows triumphantly. The room itself was also bright, brightly colored rather, with various rugs and tapestries and beautiful flowers. Tending to some of those flowers, in a vase on the nightstand by the bed, was a figure wearing a simple, light blue dress with grey lace on the edges. A dress I knew very well. I'd made it, with Helen's help.

"Darling?" The figure turned, long brown hair tumbling down her back, partially braided to keep out of her face. Kind green eyes were warm and sparkling, even though they seemed to have trouble focusing. After a moment, the figure smiled, soft and gentle, and she opened her arms wide. "Emma!" And she said my name with Monica's voice and Monica's face.

"Monica?" I called, voice cracking and shaking. This wasn't possible. This wasn't… it wasn't… "Monica, what the… how the…?"

"Emma!" Seemingly ignoring how panicked I was becoming, Monica raced over and hugged me tightly. It was a very bony hug. The dress I had made, for the last birthday she ever had, hung awkwardly on her because of how thin she was. Her skin was tight against her skull, with her eyes bulging slightly from the sockets. "Emma!"

"Monica…" The hug was cold. There was no warmth to it, to her, and bony fingers dug into my shoulders like she couldn't feel that she was holding me. And though I smelled perfume on her, the always familiar susinum, I smelled death. I smelled rot. No amount of perfume covered those smells up. "Monica…"

"Emma!" She pulled away and smiled. Normally she giggled after a hug. But there was no giggle here. "Emma!" There was no conversation. It was just my name. 'Emma' and 'Darling', her favorite term of endearment for Orson. "Emma!" There was no change to her expression. Just a smile, always a smile. Ignoring how injured and tired I was. "Emma!"

"I…" I stepped back and, feeling the urge to be horrifically ill, I raised my lance. "I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I…"

"Emma!" No reaction still from her, even as I aimed my lance at her throat. Just a smile still. Just a mockery of a smile, and the warm way she always said my name. "Emma!"

"I… I love you, Monica." I thrust the lance forward, with all my strength.

Just before it connected, I heard her say, "I love you too, Emma. Thank you." And then the lance broke her neck, sliced her head half-off, and the body crumpled like a broken doll. A doll with coagulated blood, deep crimson and as thick as syrup, dribbling out of the hole in her neck and slowly pooling under her and matting up her hair.

I collapsed again, almost falling over from how nerveless I felt. My lance clanged to the floor and rolled under the bed. Part of me screamed I needed to retrieve it. I was technically in enemy territory still. But my hands reached for the body, desperately hunting for something that would prove it was just some very well made doll, and not… not…

But I couldn't find anything like that. The freckles across her nose and cheeks were there. The mole on her neck was there. The calluses on her hands, from sewing and weaving, were there. The scar on her arm, from breaking her arm when she was little, was there. The tan line on her finger, left by her wedding ring that became too big to wear as she lost more and more weight…

I wasn't sure when I started screaming. I wasn't really aware I was until I noticed my throat was burning. But I screamed. I screamed and screamed until I was sure I was going to spit up blood. I screamed until someone snagged me by the shoulder and pulled me into a hug. The smell of blood, sweat, and dirt assaulted me and I almost jerked back, but then I heard a quiet murmur and a comforting hand stroked my back. 'Emma.' 'Hey, can you hear me?' 'It will be okay.' I thought that was what I heard, but I wasn't quite sure. It was enough to ground me. It was enough to let me look up to see it was Ephraim who held me.

"Emma," he breathed, smiling at me. Blood trickled down the side of his face. "Hey. Can you hear me?"

"I… yes?" I rasped. My throat throbbed in protest. "I…" I glanced to the side, and saw Seth was also here in the doorway. He didn't say anything, but the horror on his face made it clear he was looking at Monica, and that he realized the resemblance was too uncanny for it to not be… "I'm sorry."

"For what? Don't worry about it."

"I swear… I swear I didn't go looking for him or for her or…" My throat hurt with each word, but I wouldn't stop rambling. Couldn't stop rambling. "I just wanted to go back outside. In and out, deliver and message and get out. I swear; I was heading back out. But I kept running into patrols and… and…" I continued babbling, but even I couldn't make sense of it. But it didn't matter, because Ephraim continued holding me. He tucked me against his chest and held me as I began sobbing. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen.

"Ephraim, I hate to say this, but you're needed." At some point, I heard a new voice. Joshua's. I continued crying, clinging to Ephraim, but I heard him. "And you've been needed."

"Can it not…?" Ephraim began. He sounded aggravated, annoyed, but he sighed. "No, I know. Damn it."

"Yeah, this is where being a king sucks." Joshua sounded annoyed too, but it didn't sound like it was at Ephraim. Just at the situation. Whatever it was. It took me so long to think. "I'll take petal."

"I… Right…" He sighed again, still holding me. Slowly, I began piecing things together. He had a job, but he also didn't want to leave me, especially like this. "Right, but…"

"I know. Trust me; I know."

"Y-you have your duty, right?" I managed, _finally_ getting my head together. I was crying and could barely breathe, but I knew just what was going on. And I knew what I wanted him to do. "Go be the king, Ephraim." I lifted my head, and gave him the best stern look I could. Which wasn't very much, considering how teary and snotty I was. But I hoped it conveyed what I wanted. "If you don't, I… I'll scold you severely when my throat stops hurting."

"Emma…" Ephraim breathed, staring at me. After a moment, he smiled, both pained and grateful. "I love you." He kissed my cheeks, taking some of the tears away. "Very, very much."

"I know you do. But you've been working hard to regain their trust. I want you to keep doing that."

"I will. Promise. You go rest." And he left then. It was abrupt and quick, a little too quick for my liking, but I knew why. He had to leave quickly, or he'd delay and delay. We both knew that wasn't what he needed to do. So, I could deal. This was part of loving him, and I didn't mind it so much. I'd just demand extra cuddles when I next saw him.

Besides, I wasn't left hug-less for long. Joshua picked me up easily and cradled me against him. "I don't want you walking with those wounded legs, petal," he explained, carrying me out of the room and down the hall. I didn't say anything, just curled into him. "Sadly, I've got my own duties, damn it, but I'll get you to a safer place before then."

"Do you job, brother," I whispered. I closed my eyes and just focused on breathing. "You promised your mom."

"I did. And I'm sure you'd give me a right scolding too."

"Yep." I curled a little more into him, wishing I could smell the frankincense I knew he wore, even with the battle. Sadly, crying stuffed up my nose. "I love you, brother."

"Love you too, petal. It'll be okay."

We didn't say anything after that, mostly because Joshua had to carefully navigate down the stairs and past the blood and the battles still going on, while carrying me. I wondered just where the 'safer place' was, but the sudden spike in crying and muffles screams and pain, and the sharp smell of antiseptic and incense, told me where he was taking me. The infirmary, the most guarded area on the entire battlefield, and the place that had people trained to deal with people breaking down.

"Joshua? Emma?!" Natasha's worried voice floated over me. I cracked my eyes open briefly, before closing them again. "What happened?" she asked, brushing the hair out of my face. Her hands were cold and a little damp. "She's supposed to be outside."

"I'll give you the full story, as I know it, in a moment, Natasha, but the short version is that it's not her physical, but mental state I'm worried about," Joshua replied. He kissed the top of my head, and whispered something I didn't hear. "Figured the infirmary would be a good place in case she had another breakdown."

"Of course. Come here in the back. It'll give L'arachel something to do. She had to pull triple duty on the rest while Moulder and I… oh, I'll explain later. She's resting, and hating it. Taking care of Emma will solve that easily."

Joshua and Natasha got me set up in the back with L'arachel, and left after giving me the warmest hugs. L'arachel, for her part, was glad to have something to do, even as she peered at me worriedly and made me sit on the floor next to her. "Oh, goodness, Emma…" she breathed, tugging my legs into her lap. She pulled a medical kit from out of nowhere, by my view, and immediately went to work tending to them. "What happened? You look as if you've stared into the darkest abyss of hell."

"Maybe I did," I half-joked. My voice cracked though, and I just felt worse for saying the words. "Hey, L'arachel?"

"Yes?"

"I saw my sister. My dead sister. It could've been a doll, but I think it was her." I began shaking as it all caught up. Killing Orson… Monica… "B-but, the dead coming back… that only…"

"Easy, Emma." L'arachel's voice was gentle yet firm. She quickly bandaged both of my legs and then shifted to hold me in her arms, rubbing my back. "I'm not quite sure what's going on, but let someone else take a look before we declare anything. And if it is what you suspect… think of the implications later. We will handle it together, later."

"I…" I started crying again. "I…"

"Later, Emma. Just cry for now. No matter what, it was no doubt a terrifying event. That much, at least, I can figure. Just cry, Emma. You can think later."

I cried for a long while, probably for much longer than L'arachel really had for a break. But she held me as I continued to sob, whispering comforting words, and even a couple of prayers. Part of me wanted to snap about the prayers, but I bit my tongue in time. It was a gesture of comfort and reassurance from her. The prayers meant that I was important enough to her that she wanted to beseech the gods she loved and worshiped in the hopes that they would help me.

I wasn't quite so sure, but hey, what did I know? I was certain Monica couldn't have ever come back, but I was wrong. I was wrong.

* * *

"You really do have pretty hair, Emma," Eirika noted as she brushed it. It was long after the battle, to the point that night had fallen, and I was curled up under the blankets at the townhouse, with Eirika fussing over me. "I can see why Ephraim loves the excuse to touch it."

"He's also very good at braiding," I pointed out. My voice was a dull and tired, but Eirika didn't comment on it. "I'm sorry."

"For what? He is very good at braiding." Her smile told me she knew the real reason I was apologizing. The town was filled with celebrations, people cheering over Orson's death, and yet she was here with me in the townhouse. "I'm too tired to party anyway. Ephraim's only out because they expect it."

"I know." Ephraim had actually been the one who escorted me to the townhouse from the infirmary long after the battle, and he'd planned on staying. However, the people wanted his reassurance, and so, he went to do his duty. He knew I'd scold him if he didn't. I did make sure to extract a promise to hug and cuddle later, though. "I wonder if anyone else is hiding."

"Well, the healers are."

"Yeah." I sighed. "Yeah." The conversation died, as it had the last few times Eirika and I tried to talk. We were both just tired. Her from the battle itself and me… and me from what we discovered with Monica.

Natasha, using her knowledge of autopsies and the like, had actually looked over Monica's body, and came away with some disturbing knowledge. The body had shown signs of being dead for quite some time, but had apparently also shown signs of recent healing, at an accelerated rate compared to normal, and either a slowing or reversal of rot. She had also cut into the chest to confirm the presence of very large tumors, which had killed Monica. That had been enough to confirm it to me, but Seth had actually gone above and beyond to be absolutely certain. He'd taken Kyle, Forde, Garcia, and Cormag all out to the graveyard to dig up Monica's grave, finding an empty coffin. That had been the final bit of proof for everyone. It had really been her body. It had really been her.

It made me sick. It made me want to scream. Why would someone do this? How did someone do this? The questions bounced through my skull without answers.

"How are you doing?" I asked Eirika. I honestly couldn't remember if I had asked that before or not. "This was a heavy battle for a lot of us."

"It was," Eirika agreed. She continued brushing my hair, slowly and carefully. "Honestly, so heavy that I don't really know what to do with the weight. It doesn't feel quite real to me, yet. None of it."

"When it does feel real, don't be afraid to come find me, okay?"

"I won't. Honestly, I'm tempted to just curl under the blankets too. But I do want to finish brushing your hair."

"Sure, that's fine." There was something soothing about it anyway. "Oh, right, Eirika, did you guys ever find your da-"

A knock on the door startled us both, and I sat up quickly as the door opened to reveal Saleh, carrying a mug. "My apologies, Princess Eirika," he murmured, bowing slightly. "But you're needed in the main square."

"I am?" Eirika asked, startled. She frowned heavily, and her eyes darted to me briefly before focusing on him. "I thought I was done for the day."

"Sadly, it's an emergency."

"I see…" Again, Eirika's eyes darted to me. "I…"

"I'll stay with her." Saleh smiled slightly. "I dislike all this fuss anyway. I'm certain you wish to avoid it as well, but…"

"Duty calls. Always." She sighed gustily, and hugged me. "I'm sorry about this."

"Nope, don't be sorry about doing your job," I reassured her. I even managed to make my voice light and teasing. "If I'm going to force Ephraim to do it, I'll force you too."

"I adore you," Eirika replied. Her smile told me she appreciated that I wasn't making a fuss, though there was a bit of exasperation to it, like she wished I would. But it wouldn't be fair. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Gods know I really don't want to party."

"You can make it." I nudged her to the door. "Can't be worse than going through the desert, right?"

"Ugh…" She shuddered and I managed a little laugh. "Okay. Thanks for watching her, Saleh." She left then, her footsteps light as she disappeared down the hall and down the stairs.

"It's sad that people are fighting during a party like this," Saleh murmured. He shut the door behind him and sat down next to me. "Others tried to calm them, but they demanded the royals, and…"

"There's no need to explain," I told him with a small smile. "The only thing I really don't want right now is to be alone, but clearly, I'm under some sort of order to not be left alone anyway, yes?"

"Same as Joshua." He passed me the mug, helping me make sure I had a good grip on it. "Here. I thought this might help."

"Really?" Shrugging, I sipped it, expecting some sort of tea or medicine. Instead, I discovered it was milk with some spices mixed in. "Cinnamon?"

"Nutmeg as well. It's a traditional drink in Caer Pelyn. It can help calm you, but the main purpose is comfort." Saleh smiled again. "I thought it would be more comforting than tea."

"Thank you." I had to smile back. It really was sweet of him, and he was right. This was more soothing than any tea. "I appreciate it. You were on your way to deliver this, weren't you?"

"I was. So, I volunteered to deliver the message."

"I see." I took another sip, and I realized something. Saleh was a scholar. If there was anyone who might have answers… "Saleh, what stories do you know about bringing back the dead?"

"You…" He studied me a moment, before smiling slightly, shaking his head. "Are you sure you should be thinking of such things right now?"

"Monica used to scold Orson and me for always working. But I felt it was better. If you get your work done, you can rest without guilt or watching the clock."

"There is no clock to watch right now, and there is no guilt to feel. Not in this."

"Perhaps, but…" I trailed off, struggling to explain. "When Monica died, I was very… apathetic. There wasn't anything to think about or work on, really. Except, you know, moving on with my life, but…"

"Ah, you fear falling into that apathy again, since you have made progress in healing." Saleh nodded, understanding perfectly. Part of me was actually a little annoyed at how easily he understood, the part of me that didn't like being so easily read. But I remembered what I overheard, about how Saleh had accidentally killed someone in the past. He had suffered his own trauma. He knew how hard it was to heal. "I imagine having so many questions makes it difficult to sleep as well."

"Pretty much. So?"

"Very well. Stories of necromancy?"

"Yeah. I only really know of the tales of the Demon King."

"There are many tales of those who tried, and failed. Fomortiis is the only one known to have ever succeeded, but even then, those he brought back were bound to him. I imagine someone of powerful dark magic might be able to mimic it, but…" He shook his head. "I do not have much knowledge of dark magic, unfortunately. I know light, anima, and healing, but I purposely chose against learning, despite Dara knowing a great deal."

"Really? Why?"

"Dark magic is a magic of knowledge. Of constant learning, and pushing into the unknown. I decided that it was safer for me to not pursue it, lest I become lost in the dark."

"Can that happen?"

"You hear tales of those who devoted themselves so much to the study that they became consumed by it, losing pieces of their memories and spirits."

"That sounds…" I struggled to think of a word, but I couldn't find one, even after sipping a bit more of the spiced milk. "Dark, I guess." I set the mug to the side, thinking. "Myrrh talked about darkness, yes? I feel like I heard that somewhere."

"Yes, to the south. Grado." Saleh's expression grew grim. "I had thought it was simply the seals and wards weakening, but perhaps that wasn't the case. Perhaps, somehow, the Demon King has awakened, just a little."

"And, what, is controlling Emperor Vigarde?" That would be convenient. That would be very convenient. "Oh, but Emperor Vigarde wasn't known for dark magic." Lyon was, though. I wondered if he was involved, before dismissing it. He'd felt like a ghost, and I'd been uneasy, but none of that meant Demon King directly.

"One doesn't have to have dark magic to be taken by Fomortiis. Still, it's hard to say if Fomortiis is actively instigating this, or if it is simply taking advantage of things. I would assume the latter, at least for now. His body, after all, is in the Darkling Woods."

"Right…" I felt myself droop as I tried to think about it. "My sister… she only said two things. 'Darling' and 'Emma'. She only smiled. Even when she hugged me, she didn't really… it was just a gesture. She couldn't feel me, and she was cold." My voice shook as I remembered. "But right before I killed-"

"Saved." Saleh's interruption was quick and firm, and his eyes were incredibly sincere. "You saved her. Trapped in a body like that… that is a fate worse than death in my eyes."

"That…" I sighed. Why was it so hard to believe? I truly felt like I'd killed her again. I felt like I failed her. "Well, right before whatever… that was the only time she said something different. 'I love you too' and 'thank you'."

"See? She was trapped until you saved her." Saleh nodded, looking contemplative. "She must've fought against the bindings to tell you that. Until then, she was simply a slave. A half-living puppet."

"That just sounds wrong." I grimaced. "But, if that worked on Monica, what about someone who died more recently. Like General Glen or…" I gasped as a horrible thought occurred to me. "Oh, shit, King Fado…!"

"His body was found. He had been buried in his own grave, away from the other mass graves we found."

"Oh, thank the gods." My relief was short-lived though as I remembered a conversation I had overheard long ago, back when we were first in Frelia. Back before we left to chase after Ephraim at Renvall. "Um… who saw the body?"

"Seth was the one who identified him, and the body was mostly covered before Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika were allowed to see. Rot had set in, of course, so he was hard to recognize. But he will be properly buried, along with all the others we found."

"I see." I wonder if the corpse showed the signs of torture I had overheard Syrene tell Seth. I wondered if Ephraim or Eirika had been told. "I'm glad he was found. I'm glad all the dead were found.

"Yes. I believe Seth is going to check through the graveyard to see if any others show signs of disturbance. Just in case."

"The bastards better have left the rest of my family alone, damn it." I sighed and groaned, facepalming. "I hope Monica was the only one. I doubt it, but I hope."

"I hope as well." He nodded to the mug I still held. "You should finish that, though."

"Oh, right!"

I slowly finished off the spiced milk, and our conversation took a lighter turn, mostly some pranks Ewan pulled, or some of Saleh's observations of the group. He also managed to cajole a few stories about Monica out of me, and as I told them, I realized something odd. Monica had been wearing susinum perfume. But Monica had _very rarely_ worn susinum. It was expensive, and a precious reminder of Mom. She only wore it for special occasions. So, after finishing one story, I absently asked Saleh for the date and, as soon as I heard, I… I broke down. Because it was Monica's birthday. It was her birthday. I killed her husband and killed-saved-whatever her… on her birthday.

So, I broke down in a mess of laughter and tears, but managed to choke out why so that Saleh didn't think I'd just randomly gone completely mad. He simply let me have my fit, before helping me wash my face and, at my begging, helped me through Valega to settle my spirit enough to fall asleep. I woke up a few times, but Saleh sat by me, casually reading and checking on me.

I'd have to cook him something to thank him. I had no other real way to express how grateful I was.

* * *

 _Notes on Necromancy:_

 _One of the darkest magics, involving the reanimation of corpses. Though there are many stories about people trying to bring back the dead, according to historical records, only the Demon King has ever 'succeeded' in it._

 _Typically used to explain some of the monsters (revenants, entombed, bonewalkers, and wights), this sort of necromancy is 'basic', resulting in unthinking and un-speaking creatures. However, based on Monica and a couple of old stories, the Demon King was said to be able to 'truly' bring back a person, complete with their spirit and the ability to properly communicate._

 _The problem becomes, of course, that this was supposed to be a power of only the Demon King. So, what does it mean, that it was used now? Nothing good, clearly._

* * *

Author's note: Soooo, have a dead Orson and a mildly traumatized Emma. It being Monica's birthday is something directly from the game. In game, you get Myrrh as a playable char here, but there's still Ephraim's route, so she doesn't have her dragonstone yet. And is in Frelia still. Because we haven't gone through Ephraim's route yet, this is also the first encounter the characters have had with the not-monster-zombies.

This map gives different weapons to Orson based on which route you're doing, and your starting position changes slightly depending on right (Ephraim is more SW, while Eirika is more SE). Fairly certain there's no ballistae on the map, but I added that in. Seth, Forde, Kyle, and Eirika/Ephraim (depends on the route) all have boss conversations with Orson. Seth's and Forde's are both used here, though Forde's isn't actually said to Orson in this context.

A couple of Lute's lines are based off of her Heroes dialogue. Genarog warning Tana of a threat without Cormag telling him comes from the Cormag-Tana B support. Dara being a dark magic user comes from the fact that her in-game data had her listed as a druid. Dark magic being a magic of 'knowledge' comes from Knoll's supports with Natasha. The mention of losing pieces of yourself to dark magic is a nod to the Elibe games, where that actually served a bit of a plot point.

Next Chapter – Interlude, Ivroria


	27. Interlude - Ivroria

Interlude – Ivroria

* * *

 _I spend the next few days in a bit of a haze. While Orson dying certainly hit me hard, harder than I expected since I'd been prepared for the event, seeing Monica's body, her actual body, moving and 'alive'… I couldn't process anything and just laid about in a daze in the Townhouse. Others came to check in on me, primarily Natasha and L'arachel, and eventually, I was able to move past the fog and move into the castle with everyone else. One foot in front of the other. That's how you made it through things like this. It's how I got past Dad's death, Mom's death. It's what I was trying after Mary and Jacob's deaths, and Monica's. This war…_

 _One step at a time. I had people to help me when I stumbled, so I could do this. It was just… going to take a few days._

* * *

The sounds of wood clacking on wood filled the air near the practice yards of Renais Castle. Tana and Cormag were sparring, both going at it with everything they had. I watched, mostly making sure that they didn't work themselves into total exhaustion, and to be on standby in case some sort of accident occurred. I _had_ been in my own lessons with Seth, but I fell apart in the middle because between one blink and the next, my mind went from 'sparring with Seth' to 'killing-saving-whatever Monica again'. Seth ordered me to take the day off, so here I was, watching. I felt pathetic. However, self-pity didn't stop the world from moving, and in the middle of one thought and the next, Tana stepped wrong, twisted to avoid spraining her ankle, and caught a hit right in the face.

"Tana!" I yelled, rushing over. Cormag dropped his practice lance to help Tana stay up as she stumbled from the blow. "I think you guys are done for the day."

"Yeah, maybe a little," Tana replied with a laugh. Maybe the battle-fever was still there, but she didn't seem to even notice her busted lip. "Whoops?"

"Whoops is right," Cormag sighed. He frowned and touched her cheek, by her mouth. "You're bleeding."

"Am I?" Tana dabbed at her lip and seemed surprised by the blood. "Don't feel… oh, now I feel it. Ow."

"You took a hit to the face. I imagine it does hurt." Cormag smiled slightly and Tana rolled her eyes. "Just a little, at least."

"All right, all right, Tana, come with me to the infirmary to make sure nothing else got rattled," I replied, smiling. Tana tried to make a face, but winced as the pain hit her. "Don't need people making up their own stories for my Tana's pretty face is bruised."

"Probably a good idea," Cormag agreed. He picked up his practice lance and took Tana's. "Here, I'll clean up."

"Sounds good." I waved as he walked off, and noticed Tana staring a little too intently. I debated for a moment before shrugging and nudging her shoulder. "So, are you in a daze or are you admiring his mighty fine ass?"

"More like his back," she instantly retorted. "It is criminal that he wears a shirt that tight." She giggled and I laughed. "He's handsome. And nice. I'm definitely attracted. Not sure if it's like… romantic or…"

"Want to jump his bones?"

"Precisely." She grimaced and touched her lip again. "Ow, this hurts. Why does it hurt so much? It's just a little cut."

"You got whacked in the face. Give your body a break." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the infirmary. "Come on. To the healers with you."

"Yeah, yeah."

We walked to the infirmary, laughing and joking, and when we arrived, L'arachel greeted us both with hugs before taking charge of Tana. I debated leaving, but I instead decided to look for Natasha. I got lucky in that she was there, but on break in the back room, and before long, I was sitting with her, drinking some tea she'd made.

"Seth told me you had another panic during training," Natasha murmured, prodding my legs. She insisted on double-checking they were fully healed. "Did you see Monica?"

"I did," I replied quietly. There was no reason to deny it. "What did she…?"

"I told you the results of my investigation already." She had. I just… it was an odd thing where I didn't want to hear more, and yet I couldn't stop asking. "Based on everything we know, it was truly her body."

"Guess Orson wasn't quite as mad as I thought." But only by a little. He'd somehow thought that was true life, despite the smell of rot and the fact that she only said one or two things at most. Her bony hug… her fingers digging in because she couldn't 'feel' that she had me… no matter how many times I scrubbed, I still felt both. "I can't believe we killed him on her birthday, though. Happy birthday, Monica! I sent you your husband so that you could scold him relentlessly."

"A very proper birthday present." She smiled kindly and I had to giggle. "Emma?"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Eirika or Ephraim recently?" She pushed my legs out of her lap and shifted to face me. "I know you haven't seen Joshua. He was complaining earlier about how much he misses his dear petal."

"They're working."

"Emma." She smiled, but shook her head. "Yes, they are, and yes, it is important for them to work. But that doesn't mean you need to be _ignored_."

"I'm not…" Was it 'being ignored' when you were the one who took yourself away? I knew they were all horribly busy. "Well…"

"There's no crime in being a little selfish, Emma." Natasha brushed the hair out of my face and smiled gently. "Kings and princesses are allowed to be human too."

"…I…" I sighed and leaned forward to rest my head on her shoulder. She hugged me, gently patting my back. "I'm a little lonely. I have my not-busy friends, of course, but…" The only friends I really had, who wasn't involved with politics or healing, was Neimi and Cormag, and I couldn't spend all my free time with them. They had their own lives.

"I figured. And I worry that loneliness is preventing you from truly processing what happened to your sister. Of course, I'm not sure that's a thing to process." She hugged me gently, patting my head. "Regardless, though, there's nothing that says you can't help them with their work, you know. You helped out Joshua back in Jehanna."

"He's got Gerik and Tethys and Marisa and… others."

"And you think they won't welcome the extra hand? I'm sure Gerik and Tethys would enjoy having more time to go on dates."

"That's…" I sighed, giving up. She was right. I knew the real reason why I avoided them. I was scared I'd cling and cling, and keep them from doing their work or… or make them annoyed at me. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry. But you need to work on that."

"Right…" I closed my eyes briefly before realizing how easily she said all of that. It was almost like… "You and Joshua had this talk, didn't you?"

"More like Tethys was appalled and, after talking about it, we did agree that we wanted to spend more time together, even if our duties consumed our time." She laughed and pulled away, cupping my face. "It's still good advice, or so I think."

"Healers. Always having the answers."

"Well, part of our job is to comfort patients. It translates well to helping friends." Natasha smiled mischievously and I rolled my eyes. "Your tea is getting cold, though."

"Oh, right." I sat back and sipped my tea. I was surprised I managed to keep a hold on it. "Thanks, Natasha."

"Always, Emma."

* * *

After finishing my tea, I awkwardly found Eirika and asked if she wanted help with something. She seized the offer with so much enthusiasm that I felt almost silly for being so hesitant, and I ended up in the library with her and Saleh. During the take over, the library… well, nothing had been _purposely_ damaged or anything, but a lot of bookshelves had been knocked over and a lot of books had ended up ruined because of blood or being repeatedly stomped on. Saleh had hoped to do some research into the Demon King, but considering the state, it had to be reorganized.

"Eirika, pass the book up," I requested, leaning precariously off the ladder to make it easier for her. She did so and eyed my footing warily. "Relax. You guys wanted to start with the higher shelves and I'm used to things like this thanks to Brynhildr."

"I don't think I've seen you dangle and be one tiny slip away from falling," she immediately deadpanned, eyes narrowed. She squeaked when the ladder shifted under me, but I remained perfectly calm to shelve the book. "This is a little…"

"You've never seen me try to clean her teeth?"

"You can just reach in! Right?"

"Nah, you have to hang upside down so that you can pick out the flesh from the teeth."

"That's so… wait, you're kidding." She huffed when I laughed. "Emma!"

"More seriously, you do have to hang a bit awkwardly to get some of the buckles on for the armor, though that might just be because it wasn't made for her." Genarog's were also in odd spots, though, and I'd once seen Cormag hanging upside down from Genarog's neck to fasten them. "Could also be to minimize the number of weak points. Are we done with this shelf?"

"I think so." She sighed gustily, whimpering a little. "Ah, so many books lost… one was a book of fairy tales I loved. I can replace it, but it's still horribly sad."

"Yeah, I can imagine." The shelf we'd been working on was half-empty and it wasn't the only one like that by far. "Saleh, we're ready for the next bit! Can you push the ladder again?"

"Be right there," Saleh called from where he'd been separating out books by subject. The ladder was awkward enough that it required two people to push even without a person sitting on the top. "The library here has a very wide array of subjects, Princess Eirika."

"Grado's is even larger!" Eirika laughed, smiling brightly at him as he came over. The two had a nice little 'atmosphere' to them, but I remembered how awkward Eirika felt about it, so I bit my tongue against the instinctual teasing. "Rausten's is supposed to be really large too, based on what L'arachel has told me."

"I hope theirs are in better condition. It's heartbreaking, seeing so many records destroyed."

"Isn't it?"

"Guys, you do need to push the ladder," I reminded them dryly, sitting on a rung for emphasis. I always made sure to sit when they moved it. "It won't move itself."

"You could push it yourself and climb up," Eirika retorted instantly. Still she took one side and Saleh took the other before pushing the ladder to the next shelf. "What does the label say?"

"It says…" I stood up and hunted for the label that marked each of the shelves. Some were half-fallen, and others were just ripped off. This one, however, was perfectly intact. "M. History, 100 to 150."

"Magvelian histories for the years between 100 and 150. Got it." She and Saleh left to gather up books to pass to me, happily talking all the while.

Smiling, I shifted my feet to be a little more secure and looked at the bookshelf again, mostly to make sure I had read the right label. However, when I did, I noticed something odd in the back, a square that was a noticeably different color than the rest. I poked at it and felt it move, so I leaned forward and tried to see if I could remove it. It took a couple of tries before I managed it and I was, for some reason, surprised to see a book there. I leaned forward a bit more to snag it, and… well, my foot slipped and I fell with a very undignified yelp. Followed by more yelps because not only did I fall, but the way I fell jostled

"Emma?!" Eirika called, voice going high from worry. She ran over and crouched by me, helping me sit up. "Emma, are you okay?!"

"Give me a moment to figure out if my pride or my limbs are bruised more," I groaned. This had to happen not long after I told her I was good at balancing like that. Because why not? "Ugh… I knocked down some books too."

"I don't care. Are you okay?"

"I'll live. I think." Everything ached. "Damn, I don't even know what all I fell on?"

"That's…"

"Emma, look at me." Saleh knelt on my other side, expression perfectly stoic. "Your eyes seem to be focusing well enough," he murmured, studying me closely. He prodded at my head, nodding when I winced. "You've a rather lovely knot forming on your head." He poked my back, but stopped when I hissed. "I have a healing staff with me. Let me retrieve it."

"Sorry about this, Saleh," I sighed. He simply smiled and walked off. "Anyway, here, Eirika." I passed her the book, which she took with a confused noise and look. "It was hidden in some hidden compartment thing on the shelf. In the shelf. Whatever. I lost my footing getting it."

"In the… oh…" Eirika whispered. She smiled sadly yet nostalgically and set the book in her lap. "Ha… that's odd. Lyon is the one who found that hiding spot, actually. Whenever he left after a visit, he'd hide a book there, something he thought I'd like to read. I'd do the same in Grado. It was a silly little 'game'. But I found the last one he left."

"Well, he likely had been here when it fell, or shortly after. Maybe he hid one out of habit."

"Maybe." She picked up the book and leafed through it, frowning suddenly. "I… I can't read this."

"Really?" I leaned over to look at it, expecting bad writing. However, the writing was very beautiful, elegant even. It was just… "The hell is that language?"

"I have no idea."

"What are you looking at?" Saleh returned with a healing staff and knelt by me again to heal up my bruises. I sighed in relief as the pain ebbed, though my embarrassment still remained. "You knocked over everything for a book?" Saleh asked, smiling slightly. "Truly?"

"I don't need to hear anything from you two!" I snapped, defensive. "You both were tearing up over a torn page!"

"That is a travesty. What book did you get?"

"Not sure. Eirika can't read it."

"Really?" Finished with healing me, Saleh set down the staff and held out his hand. "May I?" Eirika passed it over easily and Saleh flipped through it. "Ah, it's an older form of our language."

"It's what?"

"An older form. Languages evolve as time passes, sometimes resembling a new language entirely. The language we speak was once, for instance, a 'trade tongue' that became the dominant language during the war with Fomortiis, since having a common language was very needed for military operations." Saleh smiled slightly. "This particular variation is actually that language, from what I can tell."

"It's that old?"

"Yes." Saleh shifted to sit properly, reading through. "Princess Eirika?"

"Yes?" Eirika replied, leaning forward slightly. She looked rather excited, and I debated getting out from between the two. "What is it?"

"Is there a woman named 'Evelyn' in your histories?" Saleh asked. He paused at a page, running his finger over the words. "One with a brother?"

"Yes, actually. Renais's first queen. She was the sister to Jehanna's first king."

"Then this… this might be an account of the war, written by her hand." Saleh smiled ever-so-slightly, but there was a distinct light in his eyes. "A first hand account from those who fought Fomortiis."

"That… that could be really helpful!" Eirika's expression also lit up. "And even if it's not, the knowledge that could be in it... I had no idea it was in the library!"

"It's very well preserved. Still, I'd have to make notes."

"Can I help? I'd love to, if I can."

"Certainly. I'd appreciate it."

"So, with that handled, can we get back to work?" I asked, partly because I felt uncomfortable being in the middle and partly because… well… we did have a job. "Though maybe I should handle this on my own, since I knocked them down?"

"Absolutely not," Eirika retorted. She stood and pulled me up. "But, ah… let's just have you sitting or something when one of us isn't by you?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Saleh, Eirika, and I settled back into the rhythm and got a quarter of the library reorganized by the time we had to stop for other duties, and for lunch. Eirika and Saleh worked out when they could both work on studying the book, as well as a couple of others they thought might be useful, and I warned them to not study so much that they forgot to eat or anything. However, no matter how much they planned, I knew a question hovered over Eirika's shoulders. I had the same one.

What were the chances of that book, of all things, being in that hiding place? Was it a coincidence? Or was Lyon trying to warn, and help, Eirika and Ephraim?

* * *

I hummed as I walked through the halls, skipping a little bit. Thanks to Natasha apparently letting Joshua know how awkward I felt, he took initiative by basically dragging me to have lunch with him, something I definitely didn't mind. It mostly consisted of teasing each other, and talking a bit about policies Joshua was thinking about, mostly me listening to him so that he'd get his thoughts together. Regardless, though, it put me into a good mood for the rest of the day.

"Lady Emma." Of course, hearing me called by title did dampen it a bit, but considering it was from Kyle, I really just had to excuse it. Seth might not call me by title still, but Kyle would. "Forgive me, but I have been looking for you," he explained, bowing to me. It was more than a little odd, but… well, he was the 'proper' knight. "Might I have a word?"

"Of course," I replied, shrugging. He and I hadn't really interacted much, but… well… "What is it?"

"It is simply…" He hesitated a bit before continuing. "Forgive me, as it might not be my place, but King Ephraim is leaving on a market inspection."

"He is?" I wondered briefly about why he'd tell me that before I realized something. I might not be able to help him out exactly, but I might… I might just be able to tag along. "Thank you!"

"It is no trouble." Kyle smiled softly. "He's been… doing his best, but Forde and I can see how he misses you. He can see most everyone else he loves, because their duties overlap, but yours and his do not."

"Well, I don't really _have_ duties." Still, I had to keep from bouncing. I did, however, mentally plot to find out Kyle's favorite dish and cook it for him. "Where is he?"

"At the gates."

"Thank you!" I rushed off then, a little too enthused by this. I thought I heard Kyle actually laugh, but I honestly didn't care.

I made it to the courtyard before long, but hesitated when I did see him, talking with some soldiers I didn't recognize. Seth was near him, though, and Seth was the one who saw me. He gave me a curious look for a moment before smiling and nodding. When Ephraim finished talking, Seth tapped his shoulder and pointed to me.

"Emma!" Ephraim called, smiling warmly. He looked a little tired, like he hadn't slept well. "Hey!"

"Hello!" I replied, smiling shyly. I walked over and clasped my hands behind my back. "So, Kyle told me you were heading out and I thought that… maybe… I could come with you? If that's okay?"

"Really?" Ephraim's smile grew, though he did look up at Seth. Seth, hiding a smile, nodded back. "Of course!"

"Yay!" Giggling, I reached over and took his hand. "I don't think I've been to Ivroria's market before."

"It won't be as bustling as normal, but it's bustling enough that I need to make sure no merchants are taking advantage of things."

"Then let's go."

Seth did make us wait for someone to get me a coat, because it was getting colder and I was dressed in Jehannan clothes. After that, though, we left the castle and began walking through the market. People greeted us warmly, though I saw a few watch Ephraim warily. They weren't certain on him, but, well… he was what they had.

"Prices are up," Ephraim murmured after a while. He frowned, looking worried. "Some are…"

"Oh, you paid attention whenever you snuck out before?" I teased. I laughed when he sulked. Seth, ever silent and clearly here only as a guard and advisor, smiled, though he hid it when he saw me looking. "Anyway, it looks like most of the price increases are with things you guys import, right? The war would've destroyed fields and limited certain items."

"True. I'm just worried about whether or not people can afford those price jumps."

"Moulder mentioned that they're taking over healing for everyone while we're here, so at least they have all their medicines. That could be an issue for those of lower income."

"Oh, lovely." He stopped by one merchant's things, a farmer based on the garb, and talked with them about how the fields were doing. I thought about listening in, but Seth clearly was, so instead, I bent down to study the wares. Apples mainly, and very beautiful, though I could see how a few were set up to hide the bruises and blemishes.

"That's the look of someone who knows what to look for." Another farmer, a woman, smiled wryly at me. I guessed her partner was the one talking to Ephraim. "You've been to a market before, my lady?" she asked, and her words were a bit dry. I wondered why briefly, before realizing that she… she'd mistaken me for a noble.

"Don't let the fancy clothes fool you, ma'am," I replied, trying to figure out if I wanted to laugh or be offended. I decided 'neither' was safer. "I'm from a tiny little village, ma'am. I worked in the fields and orchards. Not apples, mind. Always had to buy those. Blueberries, however, were popular. Always had children eating more than they put in their baskets, then complain about their stomachs hurting."

"Ha! Children will be children." She softened a bit. "How does a village girl end up holding hands with a king?"

"That's… a story. Maybe I'll write it down one day."

"It's also me being _incredibly_ lucky," Ephraim chimed in, grinning. I immediately blushed and the two farmers laughed. "Thank you very much for answering my questions, though."

We went back to walking again, hitting the stalls that didn't really sell food, but fun little items and the areas where people rested before they either headed home or shopped more. Here, we had children running about playing, still a bit tired, but with far more energy than before. Indulgent parents laughed and watched them play. Many cheered when they saw Ephraim, but we knew it was just because Orson was dealt with and now, they at least had a bit of hope. They didn't really like _him_ still, but they'd take him because he was better. Of course, being a better 'ruler' than Orson wasn't much of an endorsement.

"Say, Emma…" Ephraim began as we passed a flower stall. Ephraim bought one, a dark red carnation, and tucked it behind my ear. I heard a couple of people sigh happily and coo and blushed, again. Seth, for his part, was perfectly stoic, so perfect that I knew he was hiding his own laughter. "I owe you a walk through the gardens. I… can make time tomorrow, if you…"

"I'd love that," I replied, smiling. Deciding to get a bit of revenge, I kissed his cheek and it was his turn to turn red. "I thought we might have to wait."

"I made a promise." Ephraim smiled but then scowled when Seth finally did let his own laughter slip through. "All right, all right. We'll get back to work. You can stop snickering."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, King Ephraim," Seth replied with utmost dignity. "I am simply pleased to see you relaxing, sire."

Ephraim rolled his eyes, but chose against retorting, probably because he couldn't win and he did need to preserve some bit of dignity. Instead, we continued walking and inspecting the market. There were a couple of times where we wondered if the price really was fair, but some quick negotiations tended to ease it. No one really _wanted_ to fight anymore. Everyone just wanted to try and keep a bit of hope.

I could understand that. Sadly, though, this war was going to continue for a while longer yet.

* * *

The next day, after a morning walk through the gardens with Ephraim, I helped Eirika deal with civilian complaints, mostly by organizing them for her. When I was finished with that, I decided to study Sieglinde, which she had resting in the corner. Because at some point last night, Seth had shown Eirika and Ephraim where the Renaisi Sacred Twins, and true sacred stone, were hidden.

It was a pretty blade, I supposed, more elegant than I'd expect for something known as the 'Thunder Blade'. The stories all mentioned it was a blade of such great might that it actually increased the strength of those around the wielder as well. The Flame Lance, Siegmund, was said to be similar, the only 'Sacred Twins' to have 'twin' abilities. I supposed it was fitting, considering that twins held it now. That all said…

"It looks like a rapier," I murmured, poking it. I squeaked when it shocked me. "I thought it would be a little more jagged."

"Apparently, King Urien favord a rapier, and Sieglinde was forged for his hand," Eirika explained absently, frowning over some piece of paper. She, of course, was working at her desk while I studied and made remarks of her sacred weapon. "Queen Evelyn wielded Siegmund."

"Still, it's just so sleek." Though the hilt was a bit jagged, I supposed. "So, what's the deal with the sacred stone? We leaving it here and making a decoy?"

"Sadly, we can't." Eirika wrote down something and moved to another paper. "It's glowing. Lute, Saleh, and Artur hypothesize that its trying to desperately cover the loss of the other sacred stones since it's also radiating power."

"There's no way to make a convincing fake then, is there?"

"Likely not. So, we'll take the real one with us, and ah… hope we don't break it on accident." She grimaced. "We almost had that happen."

"They seriously shouldn't have made them so damn fragile." It was almost as if they _wanted_ the seal to break. But that was just stupid, really. "So, we'll have it and-"

"Princess Eirika!" Someone burst into the room and Eirika was immediately on her feet. I'd tossed her Sieglinde and almost grabbed my lance when I realized the intruder was just a frazzled looking civilian, followed by equally frazzled guards. "There is blood raining from the sky," they explained dramatically. Eirika and I shared 'what the hell' looks. "Please fix this at once!"

"I… don't suppose you could show us what you're talking about?" Eirika requested after a moment. This really did seem… I didn't even know. "Or explain a little better?"

"Blood fell from the sky earlier today." They glared, half-defiant, and part of me wanted to point out that they were asking for help. Part of me admitted that Eirika's job did involve dealing with weird things. Another part still thought they could be polite about the thing. "A shadow flew over the market, and blood rained down."

"I see." Eirika still had a baffled look, but I started wondering about the 'shadow' and began putting some pieces together that I didn't think I liked much. "Well, that's…"

"Hey, Eirika," I interrupted, fighting off a sigh. If I was right… "Let's check the stables."

"The stables?" she repeated, frowning for a split second. Then she gasped, catching my thought. "Oh, you don't think…"

"Let's see if I'm right." Whenever she went hunting, I had to remind Brynhildr to wait to let the blood drain from the carcass. Always. If she'd somehow got out of the stables, and went hunting… "Freaking hell."

We left the civilian to the guards and headed to the stables as quickly as we could. Some people did try to ask what was going on, but they jumped out of the way almost as quickly, considering we were striding about on a mission with weapons still in hand because neither of us thought to set the weapons down before leaving. Some part of me wondered if we should've, or paused long enough to do so, but the rest just wanted to get to the stables as quickly as possible. A good thing too. For one, there was a _massive_ pile of animal carcasses, deer and rabbits and what I swore looked to be a boar and a bear, among other things. For two, Brynhildr and Genarog were both out of their stables, claws and mouths bloody, and they both dropped off more dead animals on the pile before preparing to take off.

"Stop, stop, both of you!" I snapped, jogging over. Both Brynhildr and Genarog looked over and, seeing me angry, slunk down to the ground, knowing they were in trouble. Eirika took one look at everything and snagged a servant for something. "How did you even… what are you…?" I covered my mouth and nearly gagged at the smell of everything. I could definitely see some boars and bears in the pile now. "Freaking hell, did you two go after every single wild animal within half a day's flight?"

"This explains… so much," Eirika sighed, joining us. She covered her mouth too, eyeing the pile warily. "I don't even want to think of how many there are."

"There better at least not be any babies in the pile." I glared at Brynhildr and Genarog and they both tried to press themselves deeper into the ground. "You guys can't have been this hungry. You're just leaving the piles!" Brynhildr shifted a little closer, bit by bit, and licked my cheek. "Yes, you're cute. But you scared a bunch of people, and now we've got to deal with… all of this." She licked my cheek again, but this time, I got what she was saying. "Wait, did you guys go hunting because me and some of the others were feeling sad and…" I remembered what Cormag once said Genarog did to 'apologize' to Glen and facepalmed. "Oh dear gods."

"Did they seriously hunt because they remembered how happy everyone was because of the fresh meat?"

"Yep. Yep, they did." It was almost adorable. However, we _still_ had a few problems. "Oh, freaking…"

"Princess Eirika, you asked to see… oh dear freaking gods above, who let them out?" Cormag walked up then, looking as annoyed as me. "Seriously, who let them out?" Cormag groaned, facepalming too. Genarog tentatively crawled to him and nuzzled his face. "This is why I ordered the stablehands to not let them out. I _knew_ they'd do this. Gods, how much did they destroy the local predator-prey cycle… whatever? There's so many."

"So, should I try to figure out what happened?" Eirika asked. Her mouth twitched as she desperately tried to bite back a smile. "While you two scold?"

"And clean their claws and faces. They probably ate while out too…" Cormag sighed and gently petted Genarog's neck, even as he glowered. "I just cleaned your teeth. _Just_ did that. Now you've probably got tendons and the like stuck in your teeth."

"I'll send out your cleaning stuff while I find out." Eirika let a giggle slip, especially when Brynhildr tried to nuzzle me into a better mood. "I'll be right back."

Cormag and I, with great annoyance and exasperation, dragged our wyverns to a more open area so that we could set about giving them baths and cleaning their teeth. While we did that, Eirika discovered that, somehow, Brynhildr and Genarog _tricked a stablehand into letting them out_. Brynhildr pretended she was hurt to get them to open the stable door and then she used her larger size to just break the door to Genarog's. Meaning we had to renovate another stable to serve for Genarog, on top of everything else.

Eirika actually fell over because she'd laughed so hard. Cormag gave them the third degree for it, and I just sighed, simultaneously impressed and distressed by their ingenuity and cleverness.

"You do know that we need to figure out what to do with all of this, right?" I pointed out dryly, when Eirika was done with her laughing fit. She was actually crying from it, and had a bit of a hiccup. "That's a lot of meat."

"Not to mention a lot of furs and claws and whatever else," Eirika agreed, voice wobbling. She held out a hand and I pulled her up. "Though, we could give the fur away. I'm sure it'll be good for something. Should we give the meat away too?"

"We could." Another thought occurred to me, though. "Though, I suppose we can pretend that we had this all planned and say that we're doing a feast? If that can be afforded, I mean."

"Mmm… actually, probably." Eirika tapped her thigh, thinking. "Yes, I think we can. Let's leave Cormag to deal with the wyverns."

"Probably a good idea." He was definitely doing a good job of scolding them. They both looked so contrite that I almost felt sorry for them. Almost. "You want me to apologize to the civilians for the unintentional heart attacks?"

"Oh, I can… well, wait, it was your wyvern…"

"Exactly."

"And you're likely going to be their queen, so…" She giggled when I blushed. "Hee~ So easy! I love it! But yes, if you don't mind…"

"Well, maybe I mind _now_."

I pretended to grumble for a while longer, but honestly, we both knew I didn't _really_ mind. It was just us joking around because we might as well.

* * *

The festival idea went over rather well with everyone, though quite a few others in the army laughed themselves silly over the whole 'Brynhildr and Genarog hunted enough to feed _an entire city_ to try and cheer everyone up' thing. I'd think more would be exasperated or the like, but perhaps because everything was resolved fairly painlessly, most just expressed general amusement. Of course, that meant we actually had to plan everything out. Including finding clothes that were 'festival' worthy. It took a bit of scrambling, but by evening, everyone was excited for it, and by the next evening, when it actually happened, everyone was fully prepared to just have some fun.

"Go on, Amelia, just ask him," I urged, nudging her towards Franz. Though there had been some shows and competitions where we passed out fur and the like as prizes, right now everyone was dancing to lively music and loud laughter. It was pretty typical of Renaisi festivals to end up like this. "I guarantee that he'll accept!"

"B-but…" Amelia stammered. She went as red as her dress and tugged at her hair. I reached up to fix it, and the flower crown she wore. "I…"

"Is there anyone else you _really_ want to dance with?"

"N-no…" She smiled shyly and then took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to ask!"

"That's the way!" I gave her a gentle push and winked. "Go on! You can do it!"

"R-right!" She still hesitated a bit before walking up and, with her face still bright-bright red, asked Franz to dance. He also went red, but accepted, and I had to fight back a cheer when they joined the dancers. Too cute, really.

"My, my, here you are, little wing." Tethys spun up then, bangles and anklets chiming beautifully. She'd been one of the performers and it had, as expected, been one of the most loved shows. "Why are you hiding here in the shadows?" she chided, giving me a hug. "You should show off your pretty self."

"I was encouraging Amelia," I defended, laughing. I did feel a bit pretty for once. I had flowers braided into my hair and I was wearing one of the fancier Jehannan dresses I owned. Plus, I wore a bit of the susinum perfume. Just a bit. "See? She's dancing with Franz now."

"True, but now you should enjoy." She took my hands and tugged me into the crowd of dancers. "Come, little wing! Dance with me!"

"Oh, way to show off!" Still, I laughed and didn't dig my feet. I was wearing comfortable shoes, and it was festival dancing. This sort of thing was always fun.

When I finished my dance with Tethys, Joshua snagged me for a set or two, the two of us laughing and improvising where we could. Innes ended up dancing with me after that, followed by Gerik, then Colm, who was giving Neimi a break. I danced with L'arachel, teaching her the steps, and Cormag, who taught me a few Grado dances that went along to the same music. Tana and I paired for a set, with us giggling all the while, and then I danced with both Ewan and Ross during a group dance. I didn't quite dance with Lute and Artur, more helped Artur teach Lute since she had always avoided dancing at her village festivals, and then danced with Forde. During one more associated with 'parents dancing with their children', Garcia asked danced with me and told me a few stories about my parents that made me laugh. It was all very good fun, really.

After a while, though, I did start to lose my breath, so I jumped off to the side and snatched some mint-flavored water. I ended up finding Saleh not far away, so I grabbed a second cup and handed it to him. "Somehow, I thought you'd be hiding inside," I teased, wiping a bit of sweat off my face. Dancing was hard work, after all. "With that book we found, perhaps."

"It is a very fascinating book, since it actually starts a little bit before they joined the main army," he explained, smiling slightly. "Alas, Gerik insisted I join everyone. And stole the book I brought."

"Of course he did." I had to laugh, though. My next question had been whether or not he'd brought a book. "So, how are you enjoying the festival?"

"It's livelier than the ones in Caer Pelyn." He looked over everything calmly and continued, in the blandest voice ever, "quieter than Jehannan ones."

"Yes, well…" I didn't really have a reply to that, so I just laughed again. "So, you hide?"

"I observe." Saleh suddenly sighed. "And I observe Ewan trying to pull a prank. I need to deal with that."

"Have fun!" I waved him off, snickering as he found and caught Ewan pretty damn easily. I debated tagging along, just to see what prank Ewan had tried, but then I noticed Eirika nearby. And she was watching Saleh. So, instead, I went to her and passed her my water. She took a sip from it and smiled, but it was a bit nervous. So, to buy her some time to gather her words, I focused on fixing the flowers pinned in her hair and fluffing it a bit.

"I'm such an idiot," she whispered, facepalming. "I'm normally not even this interested in romance, and there's so much going on."

"Eirika, I'm going to point out that we have _lots_ of couples in the army," I reminded her. For emphasis, I pointed to where Joshua and Natasha were dancing, as well as Neimi and Colm. Lute and Artur were dancing slowly not far away. "So, no one is going to blame you for it."

"I blame me."

"And, secondly, it's not entirely the romance that makes it dwell on you. It's also wrapped up in your complicated feelings for Lyon currently due to _all_ of this." I stopped messing with her hair to hug her. "So, of course you'll make it complicated. It _is_."

"I'm not sure you should be indulging my self-pity."

"I'm not, but if you want a different tactic…" I plucked the now empty cup from her hands and set it to the side. "Go ask him to dance."

"What?!"

"Go ask Saleh to dance." I smiled reassuringly when she became hesitant. "Look, regardless of all the complications, you _do_ enjoy his company and you _do_ consider him a friend, yes?"

"I… yes, I do." Eirika closed her eyes to think about it a little more. "Right. Though… uh… you mind telling Tethys I think I'll need to talk to her after all?"

"Not a problem. I kind of been expecting it."

"Yes, well, I'd hoped things would settle, but if anything, I'm just more confused." She made a face. "Yet you managed to figure out your own trouble so easily!"

"Not so easily. I just talked to Natasha and Gerik. That's why I've been anticipating you needing to talk." I pushed her towards Saleh. "Go on! Have some fun! People have been dancing with their friends the whole time, so no one will think anything of it."

"I…"

"And today is a day for fun. We'll be back to the war in the morning. Let's just enjoy the night."

"I…" She looked down briefly before nodding and smiling. "Right, for a night, I can still be the silly princess. Or, rather, I can be _just_ the silly princess. Okay."

"Save me a dance later~" I grinned and she laughed before disappearing into the crowd. I walked around until I could see her, talking to Saleh, who hesitantly did accept the offer to dance. I giggled, pleased, and then went hunting for Tethys.

I found her fairly quickly, and whispered to her Eirika's request. Tethys understood, of course, and did nothing but smile and nod before rejoining the dancing. I lingered back, still taking a break, noticing some other pairings. Tana and Cormag, for instance, where she was teaching him some Frelian dances. Innes and L'arachel spun about nearby, arguing about the glories of their respective countries. Forde and Vanessa, surprisingly, were also paired, though she seemed to be more scolding him for napping during a battle while he just complimented her easily. Honestly, it was all really amusing and part of me did want to sit back and 'observe' like Saleh had tried.

"There you are." But, someone caught me in a hug, and I turned to see it was Ephraim. "Might I have a dance, my love?" he asked, stepping away to offe his hand. "I missed my chance last time."

" _Last_ time, my shoes were killing my feet," I pointed out, taking his hand and remembering the ball at Frelia. He and I had instead spent the evening studying the stars. "But this time, you may." I glanced around furtively before leaning forward and stealing a kiss. "Apologies for being hard to find?"

"I think I could like that sort of apology." He smiled warmly and tugged me into the crowd of dancers. "I thought I saw Eirika teaching Saleh. Smiling softly, at that. Both of them."

"Now, no teasing. She's conflicted, but will be talking with people."

"Then I shall wait until she tells me directly." He leaned forward, nose brushing mine. "May I?"

"Of course." I smiled into the kiss and giggled when he pulled away. Though, I quickly felt sad. The last time I'd seen Orson and Monica happy together was at a festival.

"What's wrong?" Of course, Ephraim picked up on it instantly. "Did I…?"

"No, no. I was just thinking of my sister, and Orson." Regardless of everything, I still held those memories close. I still remembered how happy we all were. "She would've laughed so hard, and tease you silly." Orson probably would've laughed too, and teased _me_ about officially being 'my knight'. "I couldn't help but be a little sad."

"I wish I got to meet her. Whenever she was in town, I made sure to not go to Orson's to give them privacy." He smiled softly, and I wondered what he thought about all of this. But that honestly might've been a discussion that we'd have long after all of this ended, when we were healed a little more. "Still, I'd like to try and make you smile again. What's a good way to do that?"

"Oh, let's just dance a bit. I'll have fun before long."

He and I danced most of the night away, pausing only to catch our breath. We didn't necessarily dance with only each other, bouncing between our friends to have fun. I even got that dance with Eirika, and we both laughed so hard that we nearly forgot to actually dance. But I danced the most with Ephraim, and I was happy for it.

* * *

The festival lasted until the night and all the way into the early morning, so most of us spent the morning asleep, and the afternoon was spent recovering. It wasn't really until evening that anyone resumed any sort of their normal routine, and even then, it was just very basic things. Innes and I, for instance, practiced our archery in one of the indoor practice yards. Neimi wasn't with us; she was on a date with Colm.

"Your skill has improved significantly," Innes noted when we both finished shooting and were stretching to cool down. "To think that you couldn't even string a bow once."

"Not like you were born knowing what to do," I retorted. However, I did remember overhearing a story Moulder told Vanessa about him beating a famous sniper. When he was twelve. "Still, I'm glad I'm improving. I wonder if…" I trailed off, thinking. I'd tried earlier to practice with my lance, but, while I did last longer, I still eventually saw Monica. Still, to simply switch felt like running away. Was it, though?

"Tana's been worried." He set his bow down and went over to remove the arrows from the target. I quickly followed to do the same. "She's not sure how to ask how you're doing about it, though."

"I'm… working through it." I sighed, but smiled sadly. Of course she'd been worried. She and I hadn't gone out for a flight like we normally did since the battle. "Orson's death hurts more than I thought, considering I was expecting it."

"Well, you hadn't prepped yourself for actually killing him."

"That's true." I jerked an arrow out a little harder than necessary. I still couldn't believe it really. I'd run into just so many patrols, all at once… it was like that unluckily lucky thing kicked in again. "So, that's a wound I didn't quite expect to nurse. Then there's… you know… the whole thing with Monica…"

"Disrespecting the dead in such a way… while it might be a very pragmatic morale destroyer, it's quite a showing of how low Grado has fallen." Innes removed the arrows he shot calmly, and finished before me, so he reached over to help. "There is a limit to pragmatism. If you do not stay behind that line, you threaten to lose any trust you've built up with your people."

"You speak with quite conviction there. Though, you're serious about most things."

"I do not have Tana's innocence, and the easy way she invites people to trust her. I do not have Ephraim or Eirika's charisma, and the way they inspire even strangers to follow them. So, I simply work in other ways to earn their trust." He presented me with my arrows, expression unreadable. "I am sorry about what Grado did to your sister, though."

"Thank you." I smiled, realizing only then that this was his awkward way of checking up on me. "You know… no one ever told me if any of the other graves had been…"

"Nothing that we've seen, but I guarantee you that many of us fear seeing others and we _will_ be checking the graves in Frelia when we return."

"I worry about generals being brought back." How terrifying, for instance, would it be to see General Glen again, as a reanimated corpse? Or how terrifying would it be to see… "Joshua sent messengers back to watch the graves in Jehanna."

"L'arachel sent a message as well." We both returned our bows and set about cleaning up. However, after a moment, he just took it all from me. "You should go rest. It's late."

"…Thank you." I did debate protesting, but I knew I'd lose. "I think I will."

I left then, though I didn't really go to my room. Instead, I walked around a bit to cool down a bit more, trying to head out to the gardens. Instead, I… somehow managed to get myself lost. Which made me panic a little and so, I wandered about randomly, trying to keep calm. So, I wasn't quite sure how I managed to make my way to the crypts. But when I was there, I decided to just go pay my respects to King Fado and Queen Esther. I mean; I was dating their son and their daughter was my best friend. My dad had served as a knight, and one of my mom's last jobs as a mercenary had been for Queen Esther. It felt like I needed to.

I found the graves fairly quickly. They had fresh flowers on them. But once there, I just stared. I had no idea really what to say or anything. I didn't know them. I never expected to meet with them or talk with them. What was I supposed to say? 'You have great kids'? They knew that. 'Hey, your son is an amazing kisser'? That was totally a thing to say to your boyfriend's parents. 'Your daughter is wonderful'? That was just obvious. In the end, I could only think of one thing and, even then, it was only because I desperately tried to think of something and came on a memory, from way back at the beginning of this. During that first stay in Frelia, after Renais's fall.

"It wasn't your fault my dad died," I whispered to King Fado's gravestone. Seth had told me how King Fado had hoped to apologize to me directly, because Dad died protecting him. "I'm sure he's telling you that now. He made his choices. I wish his choices had led him to a better end. But it wasn't your fault. His death… it was never your fault."

I sighed, wondering if there had been a point to saying any of that. This just felt awkward, especially since I had nothing to say to Queen Esther. So, I just crouched down and brushed the very little dust off the grave. As I did, though, I realized something I never… quite put the pieces together for. She died the same year as King Raphael. Ten years ago. That seemed… well, it shouldn't have felt odd, but it did.

"Emma?" The voice nearly made me yelp, and I did lose my balance and fall on my ass. "Not the place I was expecting to see you." Whoever it was helped me up, and I saw it was Garcia. "Did you come to pay your respects?" he asked softy. He paused only long enough to bow to the gravestones before turning his attention back to me. "Bit of an odd hour for you to do that."

"You're here," I pointed out. I felt like I had too. "Then again, I suppose you have to be a bit odd."

"Very much so, but really, I've come down here every night since King Fado was properly buried." He began leading me out of the crypt, and I wondered if he cut his visit short because of me. Then again, maybe the bow had been all he'd planned to do. Knights would bow or salute the king or queen, after all, as part of their greeting. Or something. "What brought you down here?"

"Honestly? I got turned around." I shrugged, smiling sheepishly, though I was glad to see that it hadn't actually been down some stairs or anything. The path to it, however, was outside. "I might've been a little panicked."

"Because of the last time you got lost?"

"Yeah. I was trying to head to the gardens."

"They're this way." Garcia led the way easily, and part of me was surprised. It would've been twelve years since he'd last been here. Then again, if he visited here nightly, maybe he'd already gotten lost. "You're not too far from it."

"Well, that's nice." I followed him closely, having to take two steps for every one of his. "Hey, Garcia? How did Queen Esther die? I never heard, or at least, I don't remember hearing."

"Well, I had left service by then, so I don't know much. Like with Felix's death, I heard most of it afterwards, and even then, it had mainly been a warning to keep an eye on my health." Garcia sighed and scratched the back of his head. "It was a strange disease, really. No one knew it, and it killed her within a week of the first symptom. Collapsing and coughing up blood."

"Oh, that must've been…" I tried to think of the word I wanted, and instead, remembered something else. That description… that's how Joshua had described his father's death. "Did she and King Raphael know each other?"

"They did." Garcia gave me a weird look and I glanced to the side, not sure how to explain that 'leap'. I hadn't even really meant to say it aloud. "It was a nice little adventure, using many of the words loosely, one that started with Fado wanting to go on one last adventure before he had to be respectable and married, and ended with us in the Darkling Woods dealing with Demon King cultists." He grimaced and I stared for a moment, before remembering Mom had once mentioned a job like this. "I'll… ah… give you the story later, when all this is over. With so many dead, and how Carlyle ended up…"

"You knew Carlyle?"

"I did. But I like to do my mourning and grieving in private. But out of that little group, there's only two of us alive. Me and Vigarde." Garcia sighed. "So, I'd rather not reminiscence right now. I don't really think any of it would apply to now. If I'm wrong, I'll be sure to speak up though."

"Of course." Honestly, the whole thing was so bizarre to me that I doubted I'd be able to retain any sort of information anyway. "When the war is over, and things are peaceful. You'll tell me then?"

"Sounds like a promise." He nodded and pointed suddenly. "And here are the gardens. I'll leave you here, then."

"Thank you, Garcia. I appreciate it." I made sure to smile and he smiled back before leaving me by some very beautiful lilies. I waited until he was out of sight before walking carefully around. It wasn't lit up because of the darkness, so only the moon and stars gave me any sort of light.

But as I walked, I wondered, and then I wondered if Garcia was right. Did it really have nothing to do with what was going on? Or did it and he just didn't know, or refused to acknowledge it? Did that adventure have the secret to why Emperor Vigarde was doing all of this? Did it explain why the Demon King might've risen again?

I had a thousand questions and I cursed myself for not insisting on asking and, instead, just blindly agreed. I'd just have to trust that he'd talk if it did come up. Unfortunately, given everything, I had enough to deal with.

* * *

Author's notes: In game, Sieglinde and Siegmund both give a +5 to strength and in FE Heroes, both boost adjacent allies attack by 3. I'm adding both abilities in, essentially. They're also the only 'pair' of weapons that share the same stat boost (there are others that boost the same stats, Ivaldi and Vidofnir, for instance, both boost defense iirc, but they're the only ones from the same country). Other than that, there's hints for some eventual backstory things. Innes and L'arachel's supports are basically summarized as 'brag about our homes', which is hilarious to me. Forde's supports with Vanessa start with her nearly riding over him because he was sleeping on the battlefield iirc. Moulder's story to Vanessa comes from their supports. Innes's line about Tana's innocence comes directly from his level 40 convo in Heroes.

Next chapter – Interlude, Rosewatch


	28. Interlude - Rosewatch

Interlude – Rosewatch

* * *

 _We stayed a bit longer in Ivroria before moving out. Fresh supplies, fresh food, new armor for a good portion… it was rather nice, truth be told. There were soldiers and knights willing to fight as well, though they would follow in a day or so. We were heading to Frelia to reassure King Hayden that we were safe, and to plot the next portion of all of this._

 _Heading back to Frelia… feels strangely nostalgic._

* * *

Surprisingly, the trip back to Frelia was peaceful. Despite how our army had grown, the first group was simply 'our' little group, and all of us joked around. Teased each other silly. Poked fun at far too elaborate armor. Okay, maybe that last one was just me, but to be fair, Eirika's new armor was a liiiiiittle elaborate. Just a bit.

"I get it! You don't like my armor!" Eirika grumbled, sulking at me. She looked like the perfect warrior princess, complete with a pure white horse. Though, the wind messed up her hair, ruining the image somewhat. "There's no need to keep teasing."

"It's just so ornamental!" I laughed, unable to help it. There were repeated sigils, intricately carved bits, a random ornament on the crisscrossed belts that held her hip guards on, knee and ankle-feet guards but nothing on her legs, a lovely cape that was actually double-layered by her upper arm… "I'm worried it's all form and no function."

"You think Seth would've let me wear this is it was?"

"Point, point." I tugged Brynhildr up, because she instinctively tried to fly down to nuzzle Eirika. "No need to hit Eirika in the head with your wing again, Brynhildr."

"She's trying to tell you to stop teasing me." Eirika pouted up at me. "At least tell me I'm pretty while criticizing it."

"You're gorgeous, Eirika, as always." I looked around, making sure everything was still 'good'. Eirika and I were in the back of the formation to chat and gossip, under the guise of being the 'rear patrol'. Everyone else was a little bit ahead, laughing and joking around too. "And I suppose Ephraim's isn't much better." It wasn't quite as intricate, but he couldn't seem to decide if his shoulder guards went on over or under his cloak. And for some reason, his boots were a noticeably different color than the rest of the armor. One that faded to grey at that. "But Ephraim is being all kingly up front, so I can't ruin his dignity. It's not like he has much anyway."

"You're the worst." But she began giggling, nodding. "The cape billowing is fun."

"Yeah, fun, until he turns around sharply and it flips around to whack him in the face!"

"You don't appreciate grandeur!"

"I ride a wyvern!" We both laughed when Brynhildr growled to emphasize my words. "A pale grey wyvern at that. Who needs grandeur when I've got intimidation galore right here?"

"Grandeur is _impressiveness_ , not intimidation."

"And what, pray tell, is more impressive than a wyvern?"

"How red you go when Ephraim flirts?"

"Eirika!"

"Payback!" She laughed warmly and, after a moment of sulking, I did the same. "Oh, Amelia's coming to relieve me from rearguard."

"So she is." I waved as Amelia rode back. She smiled back, still a little hesitant on her horse. She had quite a few options when it came to new armor and continued training, and she ultimately decided to be another member of our cavalry. She wore heavier armor than the Renasi paladins, though, and hoped to try and train as a 'Great Knight' like her idol, General Duessel. "I'll go join Tana in the skies, then. Talk to you later~!"

With a quick tug of the reins, Brynhildr took off into the air, and I smiled down at everything. Perhaps it was because everything finally felt… free? That wasn't the word I wanted, but I couldn't think of anything. But we were no longer rushing, no longer racing ahead. Yes, there was a war and yes, we needed to regroup in Frelia as soon as possible, but there was no sense of _urgency_. We couldn't loiter, but we didn't feel like we didn't have enough time. We didn't feel like we were being hunted. We didn't feel like we were rushing to simply find that we were too late.

Regardless, whatever that feeling was called, it made it a lot more fun to fly about over everyone.

"Emma!" Tana flew close, giggling, done with the conversation she'd been having with Marisa apparently. "This is strangely exciting," she explained, grinning. Cormag and Vanessa were out on patrol, so the two of us were more just keeping an eye on unexpected things. Meaning we could relax. "We're a few days away from Mulan at this pace. That's where we first met!"

"It is, huh?" I replied, laughing. That felt so… weird. "Oh, but you get to see your dad again after running away."

"Argh…" She sulked and I had to snicker. "Well, it'll be okay. Innes is going to apologize with me."

"He will?"

"Yeah. We finally had a good talk, and he promised he'd come with me when I went."

"That's so sweet!" I laughed and grinned, and tried to ignore the ache in my heart. Orson would've done something like that for me too. "If you need someone to help speak for your skill… well, actually Vanessa would probably be better."

"True, but it's sweet to offer."

"Nothing 'sweet' about it." I glanced to the side, embarrassed, and she snickered. "So…" I trailed off as I noticed something about the area. I wasn't sure, but it… it kind of looked familiar…?

I looked to the left, and found a side road, hidden by trees, branching off the main road. It was hard to tell, because I had never seen it from the air, but I thought I knew the road. I flew just a bit higher a better vantage point, and saw orchards, just where they 'should' be. So, I immediately flew down, ignoring Tana's startled squeak, and found Seth. He had a slight smile and a knowing look when he saw me, and that told me I wasn't imagining things. This really was the turnoff to Rosewatch.

"Can I go see?" I half-begged. My hands were shaking on the reins. "Please?"

"Why are you not asking King Ephraim?" Seth asked in return. He kept his gaze forward, and pointed to where Ephraim and Eirika rode side by side now. "Or Princss Eirika?"

"Because they would automatically say 'yes'. You'll forbid it if you think it's too dangerous."

"Ah." Seth fell silent, but I waited. I knew he was weighing out all the possibilities. "I think it should be safe. There was talk of stopping early anyway, since there's not really a good place to camp within a half-day, save those caves we used. So, go ahead and-"

I didn't even wait for him to finish the sentence. I heard 'go ahead' and tugged Brynhildr off to the skies and over the side road. The wind whipped past as Brynhildr went her fastest speed, and the blasting air made my eyes water. But I didn't deviate. I just followed the road, all the way until we landed and I stepped foot into the ruins of Rosewatch.

The first thing I saw was that the orchards had been burned, large chunks just gone, not even ash left thanks to the wind apparently blowing it all away. The second thing I saw was that the fields had been trampled, with the crops everyone worked hard to plant rotted or eaten by the wildlife. The third thing I saw were the ruined buildings of the village, collapsed or burnt to nothing but framework or less. The fourth thing I saw was the bodies. They were rotted, and many… most… showed signs of… well, the local animals must've been hungry.

But even with that… even with that, I actually recognized most of them. Part of it was knowing who had still been here when Valter razed the place. Part of it was knowing what clothes everyone wore, or what jewelry. Part of it was recognizing the 'treasured items' trampled into the ground.

There was Miss Emily, for instance, with the portrait of her grandchildren just out of reach from her outstretched hand. The lower half of her body was just a twisted mess of charred flesh, because she'd been killed in the doorway while her house had burned to the ground. I remembered she made the best apple pies, and always offered me a slice. Even when I was far too focused on my own mourning to be grateful.

There was Mister Adam, curled around James, his two-year-old grandson. I couldn't identify their bodies; their house had burnt to the ground too and they'd been inside, so they were even more charred than Miss Emily. But I knew it was them, by the house and by the charm bracelet around Mister Adam's wrist. Each charm represented an important moment in his life, good or ill. I remembered he offered to make me one. I wished I'd taken him up on the offer.

Miss Kimberly wasn't near her house. A snapped off arrow in her back, and all the broken bones showed she'd been killed while running, and them trampled into the ground. She always wore a lace headband, no matter the weather. She made them herself, and had made them for every girl in the village. Mary had been buried in hers. Mine was… either in the house, in Orson's townhouse, or in Frelia. I couldn't remember. I wished I did. I wished I wore it now.

Mister Jonothan wasn't at his house either, and there were some Grado soldiers dead near him. He had his trusty hammer in one hand, and a kitchen knife in the other, both crusted with blood. I wasn't surprised he went out fighting. He'd always been protective and a bit of a hothead. No one had been better at carpentry, though, and he carved in his spare time. The merchants always begged to buy some, but he never sold one. They were simply gifts he passed out at random. Like the lace headband, I couldn't remember quite where they were. Townhouse or Frelia? I wished I remembered.

I identified others as I slowly walked through, Brynhildr flying over my head protectively. People I'd thought had already left. People I'd vaguely known had stayed. People… people I hadn't thought about once since we left. People I should've, but I hadn't. I'd focused so much on… They died, and I hadn't thought about them. I had focused on myself, and maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Everything had been crazy. Everything still was. But maybe I was in a better place now, where I could mourn them. Maybe…

I reached the edge of the village and hesitated before I kept on walking, down the trampled path. And, to my great surprise, I found my house. Still fine. Still intact. I stood there for a moment in shock, and signaled Brynhildr to land. She did so instantly, nuzzling my cheek, and I took the comfort before gathering my courage and walking inside.

I expected to find damage. And there was a little. Signs of the struggle. A fireplace filled with ash. The upended bag I had hastily packed, with the cracked and ashy log next to it. The table was knocked over. Some chairs were splintered. The back door was wide open, and it looked like the hinges were broken. There were some scratches in random places, hinting that some animals had made their way through. Probably lured in by the food. There was still some, rotting, but not as much as I would've expected.

Quietly, I headed to the back rooms, and found that, surprisingly, it was largely untouched. Dust and mud and some mold. Animal droppings. Scratches on the walls and closed doors. I was rather surprised, but I supposed Valter had seen Seth run with me, and decided that there was no point in searching the house. It would 'distract' from the hunt. Or something. I didn't like thinking about him.

A knock startled me and I rushed back, wondering why Brynhildr hadn't growled or roared or something. The answer was obvious as soon as I saw the knocker: Cormag.

"Vanessa and I just returned from our patrol and we saw you take off," Cormag explained sheepishly. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, and behind him, Genarog peered in curiously. "We assumed something was wrong, so she went to report and I went after you?"

"That's…" I tried to reply but I had no real answer. I was amused, embarrassed, and touched. "Well, it might save me a lecture. I'm sure I was _supposed_ to wait for someone to come with me."

"Well, we'll lie and say you saw me?" He looked around curiously and batted Genarog back when he tried to stick his head in. Brynhildr then pushed him away further. "So, where are we?"

"This is my house." I gestured grandly, not sure what else to do. "My father built it."

"Bit far from the capital."

"Meaning it was quiet and a good place to raise children. Though, I do wonder how he knew of the village. I never heard, but I know he wasn't from here."

"You sure?"

"He was a street urchin in Ivroria before becoming a knight." Then he died. Mom… Monica… Orson… and the whole village. It all died. "See that log? That's the one I hit Valter in the face with."

"We should preserve it, for it is clearly a mighty weapon." His joke managed to break the awkwardness and both of us began laughing. "The others turned off down the road. I think everyone has decided we'd camp here."

"Well, I hope they're not expecting roofs." An awkward silence fell at the words. I shouldn't have said that. "I wasn't expecting them to come at all. I just wanted to see what happened."

"Maybe Princess Eirika wanted the same."

"That's…" I could see that. She hadn't left the house the short time she'd been here, but it was like her to want to see anyway. "Uh…"

"Why don't we start cleaning here?" Cormag carefully stepped inside and headed for the kitchen. "I'm not a bad sweeper. I think."

"Well, you'll be better than Eirika." I went to the closet, where the brooms actually were. "Why suggest cleaning?"

"Well, it's your house? Also, what the hell happened to your back door?"

"Valter, I think."

"I think we can fix it."

It was an… odd way to pass the time until the others got here. Very, very odd. But somehow a bit… fun. But mostly odd.

* * *

The rest of the army arrived and, sadly, the good mood vanished. I felt horribly guilty, but no one would even let me attempt to apologize. Instead, everyone just focused on… cleaning up. Part of me was happy. Part of me felt guilty. I really had just wanted to see what had happened and if my house was still around. I hadn't meant to take up so much time. It also felt wrong that 'my' village got cleaned up, but there were so many others that likely hadn't. At the same time, though, these were still people I'd known. I'd grown up with them. This had always been a small village, after all. I was glad they could be properly buried. The last part was just glad they hadn't become revenants or whatever the hell happened to Monica. I knew because the second place I'd checked, after my house, was the graveyard.

I spent most of the 'cleaning' time there. Weeding. Brushing the dirt and grime off the various graves. The older ones that were too weathered to read. The newer ones, the victims of the pneumonia epidemic that killed so many. All the ones in-between. The 'newest' graves didn't have gravestones. We didn't have the time to go buy any, nor were any of us skilled enough with stonework. But they were marked. Hopefully, someone… me… could commission…

I sat back on my heels, and wiped the sweat off my face. I smeared dirt across it, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It was like working in the fields again, except not. Getting sweaty and muddy, back and arms aching… but the fields held a promise of life. Graves didn't, and that was just… how it all was. People could come back, but I doubted they would, since there wasn't really anything left. Not just here in the graveyard, but in general. Rosewatch had been dying for two years, and now it was just a graveyard. In a few decades, no one would really remember anything about it. Just a house made by a dead man for a family with only one survivor, and a bunch of graves that would eventually be taken over by weeds and grass, even if I fought against that inevitable fate right now.

"Emma, you okay?" Neimi called. I looked up and smiled tiredly when I saw her walking down the path with a giant armful of flowers. "Natasha said to make you stop if you were still working, to make sure you took a break."

"Caught me at a good time, then," I replied. I looked around and saw that despite how long I'd been working, I was maybe halfway done. "Are the flowers for the graves?"

"I thought it sad that they didn't have any, and it'll probably be a bit before people can come visit." She began setting them down, focusing on the ones I'd finished weeding. "There were less than I expected. Dead in the village, I mean."

"People had been moving out ever since we heard Serafew fell. Little evacuations, bit by bit. We're not far from the border of Frelia and Carcino, so everyone just split between." I wondered how Helen was. Sam. Victor. There was no real time to find out, but I hoped they were okay. "A lot of people had moved away two years prior anyway. We had an epidemic, and a lot of people died." What friends of mine hadn't died had moved away. It was a struggle to remember their names now. "The ones here are the people who planned on waiting a few more days."

"Oh, how lucky."

"Yeah." An awkward silence fell, because we both knew just how lucky it really was. "I'm sorry."

"About?"

"We're cleaning up my village, yet…"

"Oh, Colm and I buried everyone in Lark." She 'smiled'. It was more of a motion than anything, though. I'd rather she'd cry, like she normally did, but I supposed this pain was just too deep for tears. "I know what happened and I'm not…" Her voice caught and she coughed to clear it. "I'm not in a hurry to return, really."

"I was more worried it brought back bad memories." I tried to smile too, but it felt more like an awkward stretch. "And… well…"

"I'll admit to being a bit jealous that not everyone died. At the same time, though, that feels like a stupid thing to be jealous of. They still lost their home. Just because they got to leave and keep their lives doesn't mean it's not traumatic." She accidentally knocked a petal off of one of the flowers. Before she could focus on it, I swiped it and tucked it into her hair. "Colm and I got to leave and keep our lives, after all, because we had the luck to being away too."

"Yeah, I suppose." Noticing she was still hesitating, I deliberately plucked another petal from a different flower, and slipped it into my braid. It made her finally smile a real smile. Sad and tiny, but real. "Where will you and Colm go when all of this is over?"

"I don't know, truthfully." She went back to arranging the flowers, paying careful attention to where her hands were. I returned to weeding, to have something to do. "Lark was razed to the ground, and I doubt Colm and I would want to live there again anyway. Not for a while."

"You could live in Ivroria."

"The houses are expensive, though. Plus, getting jobs might be difficult."

"You're in the army, remember? Risking your life to save the world? I'm fairly certain that means when everything is calmer, you'll be getting a nice paycheck. You'll also have lots of people to give recommendations, if not a job outright." I jerked a particularly stubborn weed out and pat the dirt down. It amazed me how many weeds there were, really. "As for a house, well, you two can use Orson's townhouse. It's technically mine now, but…"

"You'll likely live in the palace once all of this is over." She managed a lighthearted giggle. "Because of Princess Eirika and King Ephraim."

"Pretty much." Besides, I doubted I could stay in there again. I really did have the worst memories associated with it. "The other thing I'd do with it is sell it, but kind of feels wrong to just… sell it."

"I'll consider it. It would be an easy place to stay, and it was quite lovely. Huge, though."

"Well, probably won't seem so huge once a couple of kids enter the picture."

"A couple of…" Neimi squeaked and threw a flower at me as her face went red. I snickered, caught it when it bounced off my cheek, and tucked it into my braid too. "Emma!"

"Sorry. Had to." Though, it did hurt a bit. I'd teased Orson and Monica about the same thing. "The offer was serious, though."

"I figured. You're like that." She made a face at me, and I bit back another snicker. "Ah, you know… it feels strange to feel bad about everything. I've lost a lot, but I've also gained so much."

"It's a hole in your heart that still finds a way to soar." I paused and found myself laughing. "Oh, what the hell? That sounded so cheesy!"

"It did!" She laughed too though, so I didn't mind so much. "It really did!"

Both of us laughing, I continued my weeding and she continued arranging flowers on the graves. It was a strangely comfortable silence, given everything. I wouldn't have traded it for anything, really.

* * *

"I'm really not sure why everyone wants to came near the ruined village," I commented dryly to Eirika. While everyone else finished up making camp, we walked around in the meadows and fields to relax, before making our way to my house. "I get wanting to rest early and all, but…"

"The only other option is camping awkwardly on the road up ahead," Eirika pointed out. We came up on my house and she laughed nostalgically. "You know; I still remember. It had been raining and I just wanted some sort of shelter. Not even wanted. I was desperate, because Seth was so badly hurt and I had no idea where we were. I thought the house had been abandoned."

"To be fair, it was devoid of most personal things." A shadow overhead showed that Brynhildr and Genarog were back from their hunting. "I hope they didn't overhunt. Again."

"Same." Eirika giggled. "Ah, I still remember being so… flabbergasted. Thankful, but flabbergasted. You returned to strangers in your house, and you just went with it."

"I was worried you'd catch your death from a cold, or infection. Seth's injury _was_ infected."

"It's still not fully healed."

"He's talked with Moulder and Natasha about it. They might be able to do something once we're back in Frelia. It'll apparently involve surgery."

"That'll be good." We walked around towards the back. "I remember trying to help out with chores."

"You were terrible at sweeping."

"I was! But I think I was a bit better at cooking?" She grimaced and I giggled. "You were also horribly blunt."

"I was." I still felt bad about that, truthfully. "Did I apologize for that?"

"I think so. We set up the 'questions' thing." Eirika laughed again. "I lost track of that, though. A while ago, actually."

"Same, really. There was just too much else to focus on."

"The monsters. Serafew. The little girl."

"Vanessa nearly dying. Me getting Brynhildr."

"Renvall."

"The siege in Frelia. Port Kiris." I couldn't help but laugh myself. "You know; time is all blurred together and everything, even with dates, but it feels like we managed to cram a lot of things in a short time."

"It feels like we've lived ten lifetimes, but it's honestly probably been less than a year."

"There's still a few months until my birthday, since Monica's wasn't that long ago." I paused, realizing something. "Oh, that's right. This war started about a month or so after my birthday. I hadn't paid attention, but I do remember Orson trying to cheer me up with presents." I'd managed smiles that day, but it had been dampened for both of us. It was the first birthday without her.

"Maybe we should tell Ephraim to win the war on your birthday. That would be a grand present, yes?"

"Eirika!" I made a face and she laughed and laughed. "Not a word. No one has celebrated birthdays in our group."

"I think that's more because no one could keep track."

"Still."

"Fine, fine." We both stopped in the middle of my 'back yard', with her looking at the woods. "When Grado came, you made sure I escaped."

"I had." It had been the first thing I'd thought of, before my own safety. She had to get away. She and Seth had to get away. "You sent him back, though."

"I did." She linked her fingers together and stretched her arms out above her head, looking at the sky. "'Not again'. That's all I could think. I was running again, while everything burned. I was running again, and people were dying. Dying to make sure I got away, that I was safe. And I just couldn't handle it. So, I ordered him to make sure you, at least, made it away safely."

"Good thing too, since Valter had me by the hair and I'd frozen up."

"Yeah…" Eirika shuddered, reaching over to hug me. "I don't want to think about what he'd do."

"Neither do I." I leaned into her and smiled. "But enough of that. We're here. We've made it this far."

"We have. We'll make it all the way too." We fell silent for a long while, just standing at the place where it all started. Eventually, though, Eirika pulled away, with a sheepish smile. "Oh, shoot, I was going to talk to Tethys. I almost forgot."

"You are?" I grinned and nudged her back towards where everyone was camped. "Go on! Let's see if she can help you detangle your thoughts."

"If nothing else, it's another person to commiserate!" Her smile became nervous, but it gained some confidence when I winked and nudged her again. "Talk to you later!"

"Until later!" I waved as she ran off, laughing in relief. I was glad she was going to talk to someone. It had been difficult to not know what to do besides be near and support. I guessed that's how Monica and Orson had felt about me.

I continued walking around the outside of the house, lost in memories as I looked around. It felt like there was a memory associated with every blade of grass, every speck of dirt on the outside walls. Monica hanging laundry while singing. Orson practicing swords and lances. Monica and I waiting at the door because Orson was due to return and we couldn't wait to see him. Running out of the house shortly after to stay over at Mary's and teasing Monica and Orson until I was out of sight. Cooking while Monica and Orson caught up. Staying up late as Orson told me stories he'd…

It hurt. It hurt a lot. I hadn't been nearly as prepared for his death as I thought I had. It might've been drowned by the sheer shock of seeing what happened to Monica's body, but I hadn't been prepared at all. Would it have been better if I hadn't been the one to kill him? I wasn't sure. I'd never know.

"Petal?" Joshua appeared out of nowhere and immediately pulled me into a hug. "Everything okay?" he asked, kissing the top of my head. It was like he'd just known I was hurting. "You and Eirika looked like you were having a serious conversation."

"We were reminiscing a bit, brother," I explained, leaning into him. His hugs were the best, and it was… it was just like Neimi said. Lost a lot, gained a lot. Joshua's hugs were one of the many reminders of what I gained and, hopefully, what I'd keep. "We met here. It all sort of started here. So, we were just… remembering."

"I see." He kissed my head again. "Well, if you don't mind, how about showing me around the house? Clean it a bit more? I've always wanted to visit."

"Oh, sure." I wondered why he'd want to, but then I remembered. He'd probably heard of the place because Mom and Queen Ismaire had been friends. But he also likely didn't visit because it would be awkward, especially when he was hiding. "It's not a very big place, but come on in. There might be some cooking things still here, so maybe I can make some tea? Maybe."

"We can always take some from the stores."

"True." I smiled up at him. "Well, then, let's start the grand tour!"

* * *

I spent the night in my house. I'd planned on camping out like everyone else, but no, they insisted I should sleep in my own house. I didn't get their logic, but was a little too tired to try and argue, so I just went with it. I thought they thought it would make me feel better. But staying there, alone… it reminded me of the days where Monica was dead and Orson was 'just' missing. It reminded me of before the war. I honestly thought about just curling up outside with Brynhildr. But then it felt wrong to be uncomfortable here, in this house. This house I grew up in. This house that my dad had built, for the family he and Mom hoped to have.

"Wish I could remember you more," I whispered, just sitting in front of the lit fireplace with a blanket wrapped around me. There weren't even pictures here for me to talk at. It was all at the townhouse. "Maybe I wouldn't feel so off in this house if I did." Or maybe it would've been worse. I saw shadows of Monica and Orson everywhere. I saw shades of Mom in bits and pieces. Little fragments of friends coming over, neighbors. Laughter and cheer bouncing off the walls… it had once been a cheerful place. But it started dying with Dad. We'd kept it alive as long as we could, but…

Someone knocked. The noise was quiet and a little hesitant and, at first, I wasn't sure if I heard it. Then whoever it was knocked again, a little louder so, confused, I grabbed one of the candles, went to the door, and opened it. I was even more confused to find Ephraim.

"Sorry," he murmured sheepishly. "I couldn't sleep and I was afraid all the tossing would wake Innes, so I went for a walk. Saw there were still candles lit through the window and… well…"

"Yeah, I've just been…" I began. But I couldn't think of a way to say 'imagining all the people who had been in this house and are now dead' without sounding a little obsessed or insane. "Come in."

"Thank you." He took off his boots before walking in and shut the door behind him. "Oh, it's warm in here."

"Well, I do have the fire going." I hunted through the house while he sat down in front of it, trying to find another usable blanket. But there wasn't one. The one I had was from my own pack. So, with a shrug, I returned to the fire, sat down, and threw the blanket around him so that we shared. "Oh, hell, your fingers are cold."

"Sorry?" Still, he grinned and poked my cheek. I grimaced at the icy feeling, but took his hand in both of mine to try and warm them up a bit faster. "It is getting colder."

"I suppose so." I breathed on his hand, and smirked when I caught his blush. He looked away to try and hide it. "So, why can't you sleep? Is it because of the village?"

"In a way." He sighed, and leaned into me, resting his head against mine. "It's certainly a stark reminder of how I failed my people."

"Ephraim…"

"How many villages are like this? How many are dead and no one even knows?" He laughed bitterly. I felt guilty for ever coming here. I really had just wanted to see what had happened. To know, instead of assume. "I really did just go off chasing after glory in battle. None of the justifications I used make sense when you look at reality."

"Well, you can make up for it."

"I hope so." He twisted his hand out of mine to grasp it and play with my fingers. "When everything is over… even though it's probably impossible, I'd like to make a memorial to everyone lost. All the knights. All the civilians. Everyone. A memorial to those who fell, because Grado went insane and neither Eirika nor I were strong enough, mature enough, to properly do our jobs."

"I'm sure the survivors will appreciate it." I wasn't sure. It just felt like the right thing to say. But I, at least, thought it was a touching idea.

"Yeah…" He looked around the bare house, and changed the subject. "So, I don't want to assume, but I would like it if you stayed in the palace, or at least Ivroria."

"Be more convenient, certainly." I smirked at him. "Be a bit hard to just swing by and kiss you if I'm all the way out here."

"And how sad my life would be in that case." He smirked back because of my rapid blush. I just scowled. "But, in that case, what would you like to do here? With the house?"

"I don't know. I don't think I can just leave the place to rot, though." I smiled sadly, looking around at just how _empty_ it was. It only became empty after Monica died. It had been dying, but it hadn't been _empty_ until then. "It's home. It's empty, but it's home. It's dead, but it's home. This is the house we all lived in. It's the house Dad made for the family."

"I don't think it's 'dead' yet. Hurting, certainly, but we can…" He trailed off, either because he couldn't think of the words he wanted or because of my disbelieving smile. "Well, we could use it as a getaway. Vacations and all. It's a place where we could still be reached, but we'd be able to take a break."

"That's certainly an idea." I smirked at him, because my other option might've been to just break down crying. I wasn't even sure why I'd want to cry. "You'll have to earn the vacations, though."

"Hey! I've been working!"

"Yes, you have." Deciding that we both desperately needed a change of subject, or at least I did, I smiled innocently at him. "By the way, are you aware of the implications behind visiting your girlfriend, at night, when she's home alone?" Ephraim stared at me for a full second before he caught the implication and went bright red. "My, my! What a scandal!"

"That isn't…" He coughed and looked away, even scooting back a bit. "That was not in my head."

"I know. But the subjects have a bit too heavy, I think. For both of us." I closed the distance between us easily and kissed him. He kissed me back and pulled me just a little closer. "That's all."

"Makes sense." He cupped my cheek, playing with some hair that had fallen out of my braid. "Do you mind if I stay for a while?"

"Not at all."

He stayed for quite some time, sharing stories and kisses. It was… strangely pleasant, and warm, given where we were. It reminded me that there was still a lot left to go. The dead were gone, but I was still here, and I still fought. I'd be happy. I'd convince myself I deserved to be happy. One step at a time.

* * *

Author's notes: Wanted to show Rosewatch again to highlight how far everyone's come, particularly Eirika and Emma. The armor Emma attempts to describe and makes fun of is basically Eirika and Ephraim's FE Heroes art. Innes promising to be with Tana when she apologizes to their father for running away comes from their A support.

Amelia actually makes a pretty good general, due to the extra ten levels she has and her decent speed growth (40%), which is probably why she's an armored unit in Heroes. However, we're going with the Great Knight because she does specifically mention looking up to Duessel, and he's a Great Knight.

Next Chapter – Interlude, Serton


	29. Interlude - Serton

Interlude – Serton

* * *

 _Surprisingly, the journey to Frelia remained perfectly quiet and relaxed. I was saddened to leave Rosewatch behind, but in many ways, I was happy to make it to Serton and Castle Frelia. It meant that, officially, our 'mission' to inform Jehanna and Rausten of the threat was over. It meant that we could move forward with the next step, the next plan. It meant… it meant we could rest. Hopefully. Assuming we don't get attacked again. We have Renais's sacred stone, after all. We were purposely playing bait, to keep Grado's eye on us and away from Renais and Jehanna._

 _We have to be the biggest fools of Magvel. Gods, what the hell are we doing?_

* * *

"Welcome back, everyone." King Hayden himself greeted us as we flew/rode/marched into the courtyard of Castle Frelia. Servants swarmed us, taking our mounts and packs. Cormag and I had to help them with Genarog and Brynhildr. That gave us plenty of time to see L'arachel's bombastic greeting to King Hayden and Joshua's 'hey, we met before, but now I have to be official, so hello, fellow king' greeting. King Hayden accepted L'arachel's enthusiasm with a slight smile, making me wonder if her uncle was the same, while he rolled his eyes and laughed at Joshua's greeting. Dignity went out the window when he saw his children, though, because he hugged them tightly. Tana laughed; Innes squirmed, desperate to be away.

After Brynhildr and Genarog were led off, with many warnings to _not trick the servants_ , I lingered in the courtyard, watching the chaos. However, before long, my eyes were drawn to the shadows of a tree, partly because it was a 'calm' place and partly because there was a little girl there with a bulky cloak and indigo hair. Myrrh peeked out from behind the trunk, eyes darting about, before hiding again as someone passed by. Incredibly shy, but wanting to see if everyone came back.

So, smiling, I picked my way over and waited for her to look up at me before saying, "Hey, Myrrh. Who are you looking for?"

"I was just…" she began. She mumbled the words a bit, looking down. "I can't see Ephraim?"

"That's because Ephraim is in the middle of everything." I pointed to the cluster of people where I could _barely_ see the top of his head. "He's there, though."

"I see." She smiled sweetly. "I… also heard Saleh…?"

"Saleh is…" It took a bit of hunting to find him, but eventually, I did. I even caught his eye and waved him over. "He's coming here."

"Thank you."

"Of course." I hesitated before reaching down to ruffle her hair. She squeaked, but smiled. "Thank you for the talisman, by the way. It proved helpful."

"I'm glad…" Still, she looked relieved when Saleh walked up. "Hello, Saleh."

"Lady Myrrh, I am pleased to see you're well," Saleh replied. His tone was formal, but his smile was kind. "I'm sorry I got separated from you."

"It was a bad ambush, Saleh," Myrrh reassured. She stepped out from behind the tree, slightly. "I'm simply glad you're well."

They continued talking, and I barely managed to catch Ephraim's eye to let him know where Myrrh was. As soon as I did, I found someone to help show me to a guest room. I was confused when they asked for my name, and was just plain startled when I was led to 'my' room. At least, I was until I realized just why it was 'mine'. It was filled with the things the Frelian spies had swiped from the townhouse, likely just to free up space. Still, it was nice of them.

The first thing I did was take a nice long bath, indulging myself in the fancy scents set up by the tub. Afterwards, I changed into my casual clothes, the Jehannan ones that apparently suited me so well, and began looking through the items. I immediately found one of the wooden carvings Mister Jonothan had made me, an intricately carved bird that I had gotten for my sixteenth birthday, and set it to the side, to put in my pack later. I also managed to find the lace headband Miss Kimberly made for me, so perfectly clean that someone must have washed it. I slipped it on, remembering how I used to only wear it for 'special events'. Though, being able to rest was probably a 'special event' at this point.

While I was changing, a maid dropped off the things that had been in my pack. My actual packs were being cleaned. I thanked them for it and began sorting through the items, already picking out what I would take and what I would leave. Some things were easy. Others were harder. Which is why I spent a good long while standing in the middle of my room holding my dad's notebooks. The ones on poison.

Slowly, I sat down on the bed and flipped through. The meticulous notes… the drawings… the little rambles… They were certainly a treasure to me. Dark as the material was, this was Dad's writing. These were Dad's thoughts. In a way, it was more than I had of Mom. I had my memories, certainly, but memories faded. Memories changed. This wouldn't. I could always just refer back to this, whenever I felt like I forgot something. But though I had held onto it, I hadn't actually used the knowledge here. The poisons had certainly been useful, the one time I used them. I didn't regret using them. But, at the same time, I felt like they weren't 'for' me. I always defaulted to other solutions to protect my world. I often even forgot about them.

"It's not as if I don't have things of his anyway," I whispered, thinking aloud. I wore his gauntlets, after all, though they were repaired and fitted for me. I had the dagger he hid in there, and it had even saved my life, when Genarog bit me. "We also don't have to deal with…" My throat closed up and I closed my eyes. Orson's death still hurt. "Yes, I think I'll leave them." I stood up and tucked them away neatly on a shelf, smiling at them. But then I had another issue. "What am I going to put in the pouch-container part of the glove?"

After a moment of thinking, I decided to go to the infirmary to ask the healers something. Moulder was there, and when I explained my idea, he was delighted to help. The fliers didn't have a dedicated healer. Having more medicine on hand could only be a boon.

* * *

It was decided to wait a few days before marching on Grado. It made perfect sense, of course. We had to figure out how many people we had, how much supplies we'd need for said people, what strategies to use… honestly a 'few days' seemed to me to be a rather 'hopeful' guess on how much time we'd need for all of that. But I didn't mind. It was time to rest, and it was time to practice more.

I fired my last shot and went to remove the arrows from the target. Nearby, Neimi also practiced, but not in our 'normal' way. Since we were finally back, we finally had 'proper' saddles for a mounted archer, so she was practicing with that. It was incredible watching her especially since, to my utter shock, Neimi really could shoot while standing in the saddle. I mean; she still had one foot in a special stirrup, and the other was on the saddle, but it was still fascinating to me. She alternated between firing while seated and firing while standing. Of course, all the horse-watching reminded me that I needed to check on Peachblossom again. King Hayden had been treating her very well, but still, she was a sweetheart and she'd gotten me to safety that first time. I wanted to be sure she'd be okay.

"Looks like she's improving," Innes murmured, walking up. He'd been practicing as well, though he'd joined in after Neimi and I had started. He'd been in a war meeting, after all. Though, for some reason, he wasn't carrying his normal 'practice' bow. "Good. Another mounted archer will only help us, particularly when we deal with Grado's wyverns."

"Has anyone determined an easy way to help differentiate Cormag and me?" I asked. It was a legitimate concern. Brynhildr and Genarog likely weren't _that_ unique in looks, and it might be hard to discern the rider. I had it a little easier, thanks to the bow and the long red hair I always wore in a braid, but there was no guarantee. "Friendly fire isn't all that friendly, you know."

"We're still working on that, I'm afraid. We don't want to make the two of you stand out too much."

"We won't already? We'll be the only two wyverns on our side." I knew Cormag was very concerned that we'd become primary targets. Grado didn't suffer traitors well, and I'd be 'dragged' into that because I rode Brynhildr. It wouldn't occur to them that I never was part of their army. "The enemy is going to notice."

"That is true." He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked like he hadn't slept well, actually. "Well, we don't want _their_ archers be able to target you."

"Understandable." Deciding to change the subject, I pointed to the bow. "That's not your normal practice bow. Did you switch to better practice with Nidhogg?"

"The only way to really practice with Nidhogg is to use it. It's… unusual." That was easy to believe. Nidhogg, the Serpent Bow, a bow that drew strength from nearby allies and supposedly granted the wielder the gods' favor. Many legends talked of how the arrows 'slinked' around guards to ensure the perfect hit. "No, this is for you."

"Me?"

"Yes." He thrust it into my hands, even taking the old bow away. "You need a proper weapon, given the war ahead. That should hold her."

"Oh?" Surprised and touched, I drew it back, testing how much strength I needed. It required less than my previous bow, so the arrows wouldn't have as much force behind them, but I might be a bit faster. "Thank you. It's lovely."

"Yes, well…" Innes looked away, and I laughed at his embarrassed reaction. "Neimi, you need to adjust your seat!" He went over to help Neimi, and I got my arrows to practice again.

I needed to adapt to the new bow, after all. It really was a nice one and, more importantly, I knew that Innes had picked it out precisely because he thought it would best suit me. I wanted to live up to that expectation.

* * *

The muscles on the right side of my back were more developed than the left. However, it did look like the muscles of my left _shoulder_ were more developed than the right. I thought it odd at first, but then realized it made sense. I drew the bow back with my right hand, but it was my left arm that held the bow steady while I aimed. On the whole, though, I was certainly more muscular than I used to be. That was for certain.

"Emma, you in here?" The door opened without a knock and Tana skipped in. "What are you doing?" she asked me curiously, plopping down on the bed. "Why are you in front of the mirror?"

"Clearly, I am standing around in my underwear in the comfort of my own room and looking at my reflection"

"Well, you have an amazing figure, so I can't blame you for admiring."

"I do look damn nice, huh? I guess I have to keep up with everyone." Now that I thought about it, our little group was filled with bunches of pretty people. That was rather… odd, I suppose. "Well, speaking of pretty people, what brings you into my room, Tana?"

"I was going on a flight, and wondered if you wanted to come with me."

"That sounds good." I walked over to my closet and hunted down some practice clothes to change into. "Here's hoping it's relaxing, though."

"Same. We're required to be armed, though. Father insisted."

"Surprised he's letting you go."

"Oh, he was _super_ mad at me." The bed squeaked, hinting she'd sprawled out. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed it. "But Innes argued to let me continue fighting. Mostly because I'd just sneak out again. So, here we are!" She giggled and I rolled my eyes, picking out some clothes and pulling them on. "Were you in the bath or something? Your hair looks damp."

"I was." I got the clothes on and started hunting for my boots. "So, are you going to carry Vidofnir for your weapon?"

"Yeah. I want to get used to the weight." Just as her brother had been entrusted with Nidhogg, Tana had been given Vidofnir, the Wingd Lance. Legends marked it as the 'weakest' of the combative Sacred Twins, but it projected a magical barrier to blunt damage from weaponry and it would 'fly' back to the wielder's hand if thrown. Siegmund couldn't do that. "It's a bit heavier than what I'm used to."

"You'll be fine." Finally finding my boots, I sat on the corner of the bed to pull them on. "Is Cormag coming with us?"

"Nope. He's with Ephraim and Innes, helping with battle tactics. Mostly for the wyverns."

"I see. I suppose Seth is there as well?" Though, Seth could've been in the infirmary. I knew Moulder and Natasha wanted to at least look at the injury on his arm, the one from Valter, and see if they could properly tend to it. Hopefully, they could make it so that he'd finally heal from it.

"Nope, Syrene stole him to spend some time with him. She won't march with us. She's going to Jehanna to help reinforce there."

"I would've thought she'd be with Vanessa."

"Vanessa's argue-flirting with Forde. I think." Tana laughed and swung around to lie on her stomach, kicking her feet up in the air. "I don't even know what's up with them."

"I'm afraid I can't offer any sort of insight." Boots on, I jumped up and bounced on my toes to make sure they were on properly. "Okay, let me braid my hair. I don't want to deal with a tangled mess."

"Oh! Can I brush your hair and braid it?" Tana grinned. "Please~?"

"Sure, that's fine." I found my brush and passed it to her. "Something tells me I'll be brushing out your hair. Why don't you ever braid it?"

"The ponytail is easier and, thankfully, my hair doesn't tangle easily. Like Syrene's!" Tana laughed and carefully brushed my hair. "Oh, you smell nice. Perfume?"

"Yeah, Tethys gave me a couple. Do you want to sample before we fly?"

"Sounds amazing! Thanks!"

"No problem."

* * *

"I think it is so wonderful that you're carrying medicines instead of poisons, Emma. They suit you far better, in my opinion." L'arachel practically hummed as we worked on getting vials into the gauntlet's compartment. "I feel so much better, knowing you will have medicine in such an easy to access place," she continued, checking just what size we'd need for the vial. I moved my arm this way and that to help out. "Though, I do wish one of you would learn staves…"

"We've been talking about it, but…" I began. I caught a vial as it fell out and set it on the table. We were working in her room for this, and it was amazing just how _sunny_ it was here. I half-wondered if she had Dozla install extra windows. "Well, Tana has Vidofnir, and will likely stick only to it because of the morale boost. I have bows and lances, and I simply can't add more lessons to that. Cormag has no magical aptitude at all. Vanessa is considering it, but she's never shown magical skill in the past, so she's not sure she'll be able to."

"Tana could hold Vidofnir… oh, wait, no, if she has it, she'll be in the thick of fighting." L'arachel sighed and checked another vial. This one was a perfect fit. "Ah, so this is the size. We can fit a few things in this size, and it'll be quite effective."

"That's good to hear." I slipped the gauntlet off and reached up to fix my lace headband. It felt odd to wear it so much, yet it was also incredibly familiar. "We'll see if anything comes of it, but I like having the option."

"Very true." L'arachel giggled and stood up. "Ah, but I had best head to the infirmary to work with Moulder on this. He's very excited."

"I'm surprised by it, truth be told." But he really was. I wondered if he viewed it as me taking another step towards healing, or maybe he just had a lot of fun with medicine. I had absolutely no idea. He hadn't answered me when I asked. "But no worries. Try not to work too hard."

"Oh, nothing is too hard for me!"

"Because we're righteous?"

"And I am amazing~!" She laughed brightly, and I had to chuckle. "More seriously, though, thank you for the concern. But I am watching my health well. Natasha and Moulder scold me most severely if they think I am overworking."

"I'm not sure _Natasha_ should talk."

"Oh, we scold her severely too! And then we get Joshua to take her away for a date." She sighed gustily, with a dreamy smile. "They're so adorable~ Oh, how I long for a romance like that!"

"Make a bet with someone, then. That's how it started." I laughed at her incredulous look. "Ask her yourself!"

"Perhaps I shall." She frowned. "Staring from gambling… I suppose that is like him. But still… oh, I'm going to be distracted!"

"We'll talk later." Making sure to take my gauntlet with me, I left the room first, since it was, you know, her room. Then, after dropping off said gauntlet in my own room, I wandered, wondering just what to do. I could cook, I supposed, but what to make? Would the kitchen staff let me? So many questions, really.

"Emma!" However, Eirika caught up to me while I was wondering all of that, hooking her arm around mine. Her formal dress hinted she'd just come from some sort of meeting. "Are you done for now?" she asked, laughing. "I am, for once."

"Wow, this is early for you," I noted. Normally, she worked into the evening, mostly as being the peacekeeper for Ephraim and Innes. "Watch ten arguments break out."

"Please don't jinx me." She made a face, and I laughed. "Ugh… that's exactly what's going to happen, isn't it?"

"Well, at some point, our luck has to go good, right? Perhaps that'll kick in." I kept on laughing and she simply groaned. However, I did notice something. She seemed a lot lighter than before, not quite as tired. It could've simply been getting rest, but… "Seems you had a good talk." I poked her cheek, smiling warmly. "You don't seem as conflicted."

"It's still a confused mess, but Tethys helped me figure out how to start untangling it. One piece at a time." She briefly leaned her head on my shoulder before straightening. We were still walking aimlessly, after all. "Basically, she said to focus just on my feelings for Lyon. Really focus and analyze them, not even to worry about the rest. When I get an answer, _then_ she wants me to focus on my feelings for Saleh. And if they both end up being romantic, then I need to figure out which one is greater."

"That sounds like a good strategy." It also sounded almost too simple to work, but perhaps it would work _because_ of that simplicity. "I'm here for an ear if you need it."

"Oh, I probably will." She smiled slightly. "I did notice I had more fun dancing with Saleh than I had with Lyon. Of course, I never danced in a festival with Lyon. Just ballroom. Festivals just have a…"

"Festive energy?"

"I was looking for another word, but yes."

"That's true." I giggled and nodded to a passing servant. "That was a fun festival. Especially given how impromptu it was."

"Have the wyverns been behaving?"

"Yes, barely." Though, there had been a couple of near misses. Brynhildr and Genarog both decided to be tricksters when bored. "But speaking of mounts, how's the fighting while mounted training going?" I laughed when she groaned and patted her head when she whimpered. "Seth is a brutal taskmaster, as always."

"He's way worse than you and Ephraim warned." She sighed gustily. "Well, I _am_ improving, so that's nice. I should be ready for our first real battle."

"That's good."

"Yeah, but still, you'd think he'd take it easy! He got surgery on his _arm_ , and yet he trounces everyone easily."

"Look, there's a reason we joke about him being a one-man army."

"Yes, but still!" She grumbled a little bit more. "Argh…"

"Aw, poor Eirika~" Still, she did look a little annoyed, and I thought of my earlier mental debate. "Say, do you think they'll let me use the kitchen?"

"Probably?" She frowned, no doubt confused by the change in topic. "Why?"

"I'm going to bake a pie. Maybe apple. But definitely a pie." I grinned and started dragging Eirika with me. "And you're going to help me."

"I'm going to what?!" Eirika tripped over her own feet, but I kept her up. "Emma, I have no skill in cooking!"

"Baking."

"Baking! None!"

"Oh, it'll be fine. Just do what I tell you. It'll be fun."

"Emma!"

Despite Eirika's protests, we ended up making a very good, if simple, apple pie. It wasn't the best I've ever made, nor was it the best I ever had, but it was a delight to make and it was fun eating. That was more than enough.

* * *

"You don't need to giggle so much, petal," Joshua sighed. Since I knew he wasn't really annoyed, yet, I continued to giggle. "It can't be that amusing."

"Not 'amusing'. I'm happy," I corrected with as much dignity as I could. He rolled his eyes and mimed pushing me off the ramparts. "Hey, hey! You're the one who agreed to walk with me _after_ me discovering that you and Natasha shared a room." It had been hilarious because Natasha had been the one to answer the door, in her nightgown and clearly preparing for bed, because she'd forgotten that the room was Joshua's and not hers. "I don't know what you expected."

"Perhaps just a relaxing night walk with my precious little sister?" He pretended to be annoyed a little longer before shrugging. "You're right. What was I expecting? You like teasing."

"If you were really mad, I'd back off." I looked up at him worriedly. "Am I reading you wrong?"

"Nope. You're good." He ruffled my hair, being careful to not dislodge the lace headband. "That looks nice, by the way."

"Thank you~!" I was glad it did. I was a bit worried about how it would mesh with my wardrobe, and the rest of me, but no one seemed to think it was odd. Except maybe that I suddenly started wearing one. "How long have you two been sharing, though? I don't remember it in the camp."

"Nosy, aren't you?" He pretended to be embarrassed, and waved to a patrolling soldier. They gave us a weird look before continuing on. "Since we came here, actually." He paused again as another soldier passed. This one barely acknowledged us. "I've been having nightmares. Helpless while Father and Mother die. Killing Carlyle again and again. Killing Caellach again and again. Not being fast enough to protect people I love…" He looked down, slowing his pace considerably. I matched it easily. "A particularly bad one was being too slow to save Natasha. I ran to her room in a complete panic. After she got me to calm down, she suggested sharing, so that I would not have so long to run."

"…Has it helped?" I understood that panic. I understood those nightmares. All too well, I…

"Well, she's right on that I don't have to run quite as far. And she helps me calm down and not, say, break down _your_ door." His eyes darkened a bit, and I stopped walking to hug him. He returned the hug easily and kissed the top of my head. "Got to admit. I still don't like Genarog for that."

"Genarog was just trying to…" I started to explain but stopped. He already knew that. There was no need for me to repeat it. And it was a definite fact that Genarog did nearly kill me. To be fair, though, Brynhildr nearly killed Cormag in retaliation. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, petal. Just a bad memory."

"Right…" I clung to him a little tighter, remembering how bloody he'd been after dueling Carlyle. That was a scene that haunted my nightmares sometimes still. Not the most common, but seeing him die because I stood back was… well…

Joshua kissed the top of my head again and let go of me to continue our walk. I seized his hand, and he didn't protest. "Regardless, that's why."

"I feel bad for giggling."

"Nah, don't be. You were simply happy that things seem to be going well for Natasha and me."

"Well, yes."

"So, let me return the favor." He grinned. "How are things with you and Ephraim? You spent a night together in your house back at Rosewatch."

"It wasn't the whole night. Just until we were both sleepy." I scowled up at him, sulking. "How did you even know about that?"

"Woken up from a nightmare, went to get fresh air, saw him sneaking out. Decided to not put him on the spot." His grin widened and I rolled my eyes. "But still. Going well? I'm obligated to ask, you know."

"Because the protective older brother."

"Well, in this case, it's more of 'if he is messing up, let her rant and not feed him to Brynhildr'."

"You know; Brynhildr doesn't _eat_ people. She just rips them apart." And sometimes got their parts stuck between her teeth. Fingers were the worst. "There was a time where that sentence would've shocked me."

"Yeah, everyone changes once they battle for a while. You see it with mercenaries. You see it with soldiers. Bit sad with the younger ones, though."

"Like Ross." I didn't interact with Ross much, but while he remained reckless, there was a haunted look to his eyes sometimes. "Joshua?"

"Yes?"

"Do we have enough people?"

"I have no idea." He squeezed my hand. "But we essentially have all who are able to fight back. So, this will be our only shot. If we fail, Grado definitively wins and all of Magvel will fall into chaos, much like Renais did."

It was a somber note to end on, but neither of us could really reply to that. So, we continued our walk in silence, leaning into each other. We walked until we found the stairs back down, and returned to the castle proper. Though, strangely, we found Gerik wandering the halls and the way he darted straight for us told me he'd been hunting for Joshua for a while.

"Sorry to bother when it's late," he began. He looked a bit tired, and annoyed. "But got a 'mercenary discussion'."

"Oh, hell, what are they arguing over _now_?" Joshua groaned. I frowned, not sure what was going on. "If it's pay again…"

"Yep."

"Do they not teach what 'Full Call' anymore? Or do they think that they can leverage my not being around against me?"

"No clue. But I'd rather not bring Eirika into this."

"No way in hell. They work too hard as is."

"Well, I'm not?" I interrupted, looking at both of them. I let go of Joshua's hand to cross my arms and I shifted my weight onto my right leg. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"It's pretty late, lass," Gerik pointed out. He ran a hand through his hair. "Rather late, actually."

"Wow, really? I didn't notice the moon and stars outside." I shrugged. "I mean; worse comes to worse, we can just threaten to feed them to Brynhildr and Genarog. Doubt they know that the two don't actually eat humans."

"Gods, am I ever tempted." Gerik smiled slightly. "Make me really thinking about retiring."

"Nope. Denied," Joshua retorted instantly. He even grinned. "At least until I get the Guild reformed. Though I suppose we could just make you a fancy noble or something."

"You're supposed to _reward_ help, you know," Gerik pointed out. Still, his smile grew. "All right, lass. Come and help us. Maybe we can get to bed at a decent hour."

Sadly, we didn't, unless 'an hour before dawn' was a decent hour to Gerik. But hopefully, we actually got them to stop trying to wrangle pay out of Joshua. Hopefully.

* * *

"Frelia sure does look different when you're not attacking it," Cormag observed during one of our flights. He smiled bitterly when I frowned at him. "Yes, I was here during the siege. I was my brother's lieutenant-general, after all."

"I didn't see you," I replied, not sure what else to say. I patted Brynhildr on the neck and nudged her to fly a little closer to Genarog. "I saw Glen, but not you."

"I was coordinating from the back. I doubt any of the survivors saw me. I did, however, see Valter fall pathetically down."

"After nearly getting me. I played _bait_ for that plan."

"It was still hilarious to watch, though I felt bad for Evaicrag."

"I see." I wasn't sure why the news surprised me. It only made sense. I supposed I just had never considered it. "How are you doing?

"I have no idea." He shrugged and just kept up that bitter smile. "I have absolutely no idea." That felt fair. He was helping us come up with strategies to kill people he had trained and fought alongside of. Hell, people he had _commanded_. And he was going to fight too. "I do, however, admit that I was definitely and thoroughly tricked by Valter."

"I'm glad you believe us."

"It makes sense, and the more I fight alongside everyone, the more I realize you wouldn't mangle his corpse." Cormag laughed, but it was a very mirthless sound. "Glen has probably been scolding me severely."

"To be fair, you weren't exactly in a state to be thinking clearly." I made myself smile. "You know; I thought we went flying to relax."

"Whoops." He said it so deadpan that I had to laugh and, after a moment, he joined in. "Sorry. I just couldn't help but think of it."

"Well, I imagine it all is rather weird."

"Extremely." He shook his head and looked ahead. In a second, though, he was frowning. "The hell is that?" He pointed to something small flying a short distance away. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a person. But people couldn't fly. Not without a pegasus or wyvern, at least. "You have your bow?"

"I do." I palmed it, and hovered a hand over my closed quiver. "Wish I had my dagger." But I had chosen to not wear my gauntlets. Or my armor for that matter.

"Wish we had our armor." Neither had Cormag and, worse, Brynhildr and Genarog also weren't wearing their armor. "Okay. Let's flank."

"Right." However, as we got closer, I realized something. It was hard to see, but the figure… they had indigo hair. "Wait a second. Is that Myrrh?"

"What."

"Myrrh!" I ignored Cormag to call out. The figure began looking around wildly. "Over here! It's Emma!" I waved when the figure looked our way. Cormag was just staring. "Hey!"

Hesitantly, the figure flew towards us, proving that I was correct. It was Myrrh and, suddenly, the 'bulkiness' of her cloak made perfect sense. It had been hiding her wings. "Um… hello?" she murmured shyly. I smiled reassuringly, and held out my hand. After a moment, she took it and sat behind me in the saddle. She brought her wings in tightly, pressing them as close to her back as she could. "I didn't think… anyone would be flying now."

"We do normally fly a bit earlier in the day," I commented. I twisted to help her get the cloak over her wings, grinning. "Those are cool, though. The wings."

"Though, I'm curious as to why you have them?" Cormag asked. He looked rather done with this. I was of the opinion that given everything, a girl with wings wasn't actually the weirdest thing that had happened. "I mean… humans don't have wings? They were rather like wyvern wings as well."

"That is…" Myrrh began hesitantly. She looked down shyly, and I ruffled her hair to reassure her. "I'm… not human. I'm a manakete. A dragon."

"And that is…?"

"We are… different from humans and monsters. There were more of us, but most sailed away. Father and I are all that stayed. I didn't want to leave him, and he watches over Fomortiis's body."

"Who?"

"The Demon King," I answered for her. She gave me a relieved smile. "Saleh told me that those of Caer Pelyn use his name instead of the title because he's a false king who only rules over mindless thralls he creates."

"Not sure how that's different than Grado right now," Cormag grumbled. I almost asked, but he looked so pained that I couldn't bring myself to. "So, ah… is the Demon King one of you?"

"I don't think so, no," Myrrh murmured. She ducked behind me, as much as she could. Brynhildr crooned, trying to reassure her. "We don't know anything about him. He just appeared. He could be a dragon, twisted horribly, but he is very different from us, in how he looks. But the possession he shows is something that the more powerful dragons can do. Father and I can't, but he has told me stories of those who could. It's a very… dark… thing…"

"Very demonic, huh?"

"Yes." Myrrh shuddered. "He was very horrible. He liked toying with people. Preying on their insecurities. That is how he got Latona. He preyed on her insecurities and possessed her. She managed to break free, thankfully, but it was still a trying time. It scares me even now. It was horrible."

"It sounds… wait…" Cormag looked at me with a silent question. I shrugged and he nodded to her. Clearly, he wanted me to ask it.

So, I twisted again to look at Myrrh. "Say, how old are you?" I asked her. She frowned slightly. "It's a rude question, but you look twelve."

"I am… 1200? Roughly?" she answered after a moment. She hid a bit more behind me. "It is hard to remember."

"That's… uh…" That was old. It was the obvious response, but that was all my brain could focus on for a moment. "So, you lived through the war."

"Yes. I knew the Heroes. They were all very nice. I miss them."

"Ah." I thought about asking more, but then I noticed how tired and nervous she looked. And I nearly groaned at how idiotic I was being. She was naturally shy and Cormag and I had startled her. Now she was desperately trying to be polite and hold a conversation, while still being… "Ready to head back?" Her vigorous nod made me feel worse. "Come on. Let's go."

We arced back around and when we landed, Cormag handled getting Brynhildr and Cormag settled in. I took Myrrh by the hand and walked her to her room. She thanked me with a smile, but was very quick to dart inside and shut the door. I sighed, drumming my fingers on my tight. I really did need to somehow make that rudeness up to her. I had no idea how, but I needed to.

"Emma?" The voice nearly made me yelp, and I only didn't because I barely managed to recognize it as Saleh's. "Why are you outside Lady Myrrh's door?" he asked curiously. He held that book we found in Renais's library, hinting to what he had been doing or planned to do. "She's… ah…"

"She was out for a flight, but I just walked her here," I explained. His eyes narrowed and I grimaced. "And I feel bad because both Cormag and I accidentally interrogated her and that was _very_ rude. So I was thinking about how to make it up. Maybe I could cook something for her. Do you know if she has a favorite dish?"

"I… do not, no?" Now he just gave me a confused look. "Well, she did seem to stare at the sweets when we passed through villages."

"Sweets, huh? Darn, I should've given her a bit of the pie I made a couple days ago." I frowned, leaning against the wall opposite the door as I thought. "Cookies? Though… oh, Saleh, what's a sweet from Caer Pelyn?"

"You are going to bake for her?"

"I'm going to _apologize_. Through cooking something I hope she will like." I scowled when he actually began laughing. "What? Does she not need to eat or something?"

"She does. I will ask her, tomorrow, if there is a dish she wants to have or try." He still looked far too amused. "You have seen her wings, and your reaction is not awe or fear."

"She's a girl with wings. Big deal. And if you go with a 'she can kill you', I will point out that statement applies to a _lot_ of people we know. And some animals. A particularly dedicated bird could kill me, actually." I paused, frowning. He covered his mouth to muffle his continued laughter. "I had a point. I know I did. Oh, whatever. Are you enjoying the book?"

"I am. Though, Princess Eirika gets mad if I read it ahead of her."

"She finds it relaxing, and likes hearing your opinions." For a split-second, I thought I saw him blush. But then I blinked and it was gone, so I decided I had imagined it. But he did have a soft smile, and that was more telling than a blush. "Did you just get done going through?"

"Yes, I wanted to check on Lady Myrrh and she had another meeting."

"I see." I studied him a bit, noticing he looked a bit tired. "Say, are you okay?"

"I am coping." He smiled wanly. "I am a scholar first and foremost. Battles do not suit me."

"I can understand that." Even though I had become good at fighting, I longed for the days where I wouldn't have to fight anymore. "There's some nice gardens here. Relaxing. Want to walk with me? I'm not busy."

"That sounds nice, actually. I haven't had the time to see them yet."

"Then I'll show you." I smiled and gestured down the hall. "This way."

* * *

I woke with a groan, pushing myself up to rest my head in my hands. After a lovely walk where Saleh identified most of the plants, and an equally lovely dinner with him, Gerik, Tethys, Marisa, Ewan, Joshua, and Natasha… I'd been certain I'd be able to sleep. But as usual, the nightmares came crawling back. Some were old, like that horrifying moment where I almost killed Lute, way back when we first met. Others were newer, like killing Orson and Monica again and again, but they always came back, blaming me for their suffering. Like Eirika, Ephraim, Joshua, Natasha, Tana, L'arachel, Neimi… like any of my friends, any of my comrades, falling in battle and then coming back as a twisted puppet to kill me. I didn't know which nightmares were worse: the ones where they 'killed' me or the ones where I 'killed' them. All of them just made me want to scream or vomit. Or both.

I glanced out the window, half-hoping it was at least dawn or something. Unfortunately, though, the night sky made it clear it was still very late and not an hour most people would be awake for. Sighing, I dragged myself out of bed and changed into some simple clothes before going on a walk. I wanted to bleed off the leftover shakiness from the nightmare before attempting Valega to clear my mind enough to hopefully sleep. My heart was still hammering and part of me wasn't sure if I was going to burst into tears.

So, I walked. I walked through the gardens again. I walked through the courtyard. I waved to the patrolling soldiers who caught sight of me, and got simple nods in return. I walked and walked until my pulse evened out and I no longer felt like I wanted to scream. Of course, someone then snuck up on me and wasted all that effort, but I threw them over my shoulder and pinned them, so I felt like I got my revenge. Of course, there was the mild awkwardness that resulted from pinning my boyfriend to the ground, but you know…

"In retrospect, sneaking up was probably the stupidest idea," Ephraim observed, voice a little thin from pain. Thankfully, he'd spooked me by the practice yards, so I had him pinned in grass and not on stone. Otherwise, I might've… "Still, ow…"

"I… I am so sorry!" I yelped, throwing myself back. I sat on my heels and he carefully pushed himself up. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. I more got the air knocked out of me, I think."

"I'm so sorry…" I sat up a bit and ran my hand through his hair, making sure there was no blood. My hands shook as I did. "I…"

"Hey, easy." He caught my hands, though, and intertwined our fingers. I sat back on my heels again, looking down. "Like I said. Stupid idea to just grab you like I did."

"I still shouldn't have thrown you." Gods, what if that had been a servant just trying to do their job? "I'm-"

"Okay, you shouldn't have, but you've already apologized." He let go of my hands to cup my face and turn it towards him. "And it's unusual behavior for you. _And_ you're clammy. What happened?"

"…Just a nightmare."

"About?" He smiled gently when I hesitated to answer. "Someone dying?"

"Less that and more them coming back. Like Monica." I sighed and clasped one of the hands on my face. "Fighting the revenants is scary enough. And Monica had been…" I shuddered, remembering. Then, worse, my mind substituted Monica for, say, Eirika. Natasha. It was enough to make me nauseous again. "They don't feel pain. They don't bleed right. It's just…"

"Ah." Ephraim was mostly silent, clearly thinking, and then he smiled sadly. "I wish I knew what to say to help you feel better. I can't think of anything, though."

"It's fine. That you don't dismiss it is a comfort." I brought the hand I was holding down, mostly so that I could trace over the tiny scars he had. "I love that about you. I love how you always listen, even when I'm being unreasonable."

"I've… never thought you unreasonable? Maybe too blunt or harsh with your words, but not…" Ephraim paused and then grinned. "Wait, you just…"

"…Better remember it, because I'm not repeating it!" I blushed painfully, looking away. His laugh only made it worse. "I swear it. Never. Never repeating it."

"That's fine. I'll always remember." He laughed, and I glared. But then he leaned in to kiss me and I kissed him back, enjoying the warmth he brought.

However, when we pulled away, I finally thought of the obvious question. "Ephraim?" I began. I was nearly distracted when he kissed my cheek and the hand on my face fell to caress the back of my neck. "What are _you_ doing up?" He didn't answer, so I cupped his face and turned it towards me. "Were you working late?"

"No, not really," he replied. He hesitated a moment before resting his forehead against mine. "Just some nightmares, like you."

"What about?" I threaded a hand through his hair when he hesitated again. "Is it why you decided that sneaking up on me was a good idea?"

"I… well…" He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it was. I got overwhelmed when I saw you and had to…"

"Did you dream that I had died?"

"Yes." He wrapped his arms around me, making sure I was here. "This time, at least."

"This time?"

"I've been having more and more nightmares. After all, we're marching for 'proper' war. I'm terrified I'm going to be stupid and get someone killed. Like Innes or Tana. You or Eirika. Seth, Forde, Kyle…" He smiled wanly. "Then there's the nightmares where everything went _right_ , yet I stand over the body of a friend who died because everything went right and yet, they still died."

"I see." I tried to think of something to say but, like earlier, there really wasn't nothing to say.

We had been at war, and things had been dangerous, but here we were, going to outright battle with the stakes the highest they had ever been. It was incredibly dangerous. We could very well die. There was no way to say 'Oh, that would never happen'. It was going to happen to someone, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't be a person we cared about.

So, instead, I kissed him to try and communicate the love I did have and the support I wanted to give. He matched me kiss for kiss, still a little clumsily, but the way he clung told me he understood what I couldn't say, and he silently swore the same. Or… something. My mind went a little numb after a bit. His kisses really were the sweetest.

* * *

Author's notes: In game, Nidhogg boosts luck by five (ten in Awakening), while in Heroes, it's ability is to boost Innes's stats for each adjacent ally. I brought in both, just as I did for the Renasi Sacred Twins. Vidofnir is, interestingly enough, the 'weakest' of the weapons at only 15 might in game. In both the game and Heroes, it boosts the defense of the wielder. I added the 'return to the wielder's hand' thing to balance out the weaker might and to add to the 'winged' part of the lance.

Fomortiis, the Demon King, is simply described as… well… a demon. Outside of the monsters, he is the lone Demon if all of Fire Emblem, and there's nothing about where the hell he came from. At all. The 'dragons can possess' thing is a nod to the Jugdral series, and Awakening.

Also, going to bring this up. Yes, in the localized script, Latona is referred to as male, though it's incredibly easy to miss (near as I can tell, it was literally one line in chapter 19). However, in the original Japanese script, Latona was spoken about in gender-neutral terms. Since that is the case and I had previously referred to Latona as a female, we're sticking with female. The name 'Latona' refers to a goddess anyway (though, it wouldn't be the first time we had gender-blender names in Fire Emblem; Larcei and Ulster's original names were references to a male god and a female warrior queen respectively and Thrud, Tordo's official localized name, is the name of a female goddess).

Next Chapter – Fort Rigwald (Ephraim path start)


	30. Chapter 17) Fort Rigwald

Chapter 17) Fort Rigwald

* * *

 _Thus, we march south. After conquering Renais, Grado attempted to do the same to Frelia. However, Innes managed to halt the invasion by the water's edge, keeping the border intact. Now, we take advantage of that to advance the front lines into Grado directly. Our first destination is Fort Rigwald, which will be, of course, full of soldiers. It is, after all, the jewel of Grado's fortifications, its walls standing tall and true._

 _Supposedly, it has never been breached. Guess what we have to do? Legend-killers, that's us! Or something._

* * *

As we got near Fort Rigwald, Tana got a whim to make sure the nearby villages were okay and to warn them of the coming battle. Everyone else agreed, and so, pairs and trios were sent out. I ended up going with Tana and Amelia for… some reason. I wasn't quite sure, exactly. I might've just been dragged off, actually. I didn't mind, but still.

"King Hayden would gladly give you shelter if you wish to leave," I explained to the village elder, an older woman who reminded me of Dara in Caer Pelyn. I hadn't caught her name, and now, it felt awkward to ask. "I understand not wanting to leave your homes, though."

"The ones here are the ones who have difficulties leaving, my lady," the elder explained. In the distance, Tana played with the children, all very young. I wasn't sure where Amelia was. "The ones who could fight volunteered for the army. The ones that could leave easily… well, they already went."

"I understand." I glanced over to the fortress in the distance. Grado flags flapped proudly in the wind, and even from here, I could see soldiers milling about the walls. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"No, my lady." She bowed slightly and I tried to not squirm. I'd have to get used to it eventually, but it was definitely going to be a while. "We are as fine as one can be."

"Okay…" I smiled a bit awkwardly, not sure what else to say, but the elder apparently thought it a dismissal because she left. I sighed a bit, brushing some hair behind my ear, and glanced around again. Tana was, still, playing with the children, but Amelia wasn't anywhere in sight.

Frowning, I wandered the village, wondering just where she was. I asked a few about where she might be, but all I got was shrugs and vague 'well, I think she was over there?' things. So, I began panicking a little, wondering if she'd left or had gotten hurt or something. Yes, this was supposed to be a simple 'visit the villages and make sure they knew of the coming battle' thing, but things were rarely simple with us. If anyone could find some way to get into trouble, it was us.

Finally, though, I did find her. She was on the edge of the village, but she wasn't looking out over the horizon. She looked at the village, staring with a surprisingly sad look on her face. "Amelia?" I called, waving when she glanced at me. I took that as an invitation to jog over to her. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…" she began, fiddling with her gloves. She paused, clearly trying to think. "I was thinking of Silva."

"Silva?"

"My home." She smiled sadly. "My village, back in Grado. It was kind of like this."

"Really?" I looked at the village too, feeling a little unsettled by it. After all, the village had a noticeable 'wounded' and 'melancholy' about it. "Was it the war?"

"No, it wasn't. It was bandits. A raid." She linked her fingers together and stretched out her arms in front of her. I decided against asking about her family. Something told me that if she had one, she would've mentioned them sooner. "Afterwards, I decided I would become the greatest soldier in Grado, so that I could protect people. So that I wasn't so helpless again." She sighed and drooped, though, her arms fell to her side. "But, well… this war happened. I was so certain that Grado was just, yet…"

"You're okay." I slung my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "We're here with you. And you're already much stronger."

"You think?"

"Soldiers are harder to kill that bandits. For a lot of reasons." I kissed the top of her head and she giggled. "Besides, if you feel like you're in over your head, you can just yell for Franz. I'm sure he'd love showing off for you."

"Emma!" She started laughing. It was a sadder laugh than normal, but it was happier than I expected. "I want to protect him too, you know!"

"Then you show of for him afterwards. Perfect, yes?" I grinned and she laughed harder. "Feeling better?"

"A little, yes." She nodded to herself and rubbed at her eyes. I saw no evidence of tears, but maybe she was just 'wiping away' the ones she had shed in the past. "We should meet with Princess Tana, yes?"

"Yeah, probably."

We made our slow way back to the center of town, checking in on visitors as we passed by. Tana actually came to meet us, having left the children to their own devices. "We probably need to call back Brynhildr and Achaeus," she explained when she caught up. We had ordered the two to fly around away from the village, worried about bringing Grado's attention here. "The battle will begin soon, I'm sure."

"More than likely," Amelia agreed. Her crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Remind me why I didn't ride my horse here? Was it for secrecy?"

"That and Emma offered to give you a 'proper' ride on Brynhildr?"

"I can only remember her riding while she was injured," I laughed, grinning. "Though, I suppose joking about feeding you to her didn't help matters, huh?"

"No, it didn't!" Amelia retorted, huffing. She sulked when I continued laughing. "She is surprisingly sweet. I've grown up with stories of wyverns. You always kept your distance. But Brynhildr and Genarog are like deadlier cats. Complete with gifts of dead animals."

"Please don't remind me." As the group grew more and more nervous for the coming battles, Brynhildr and Genarog thought we needed meat to cheer us up. "Though, I will note that when in battle…"

"That's true."

"We really need to get going," Tana gently reminded. Her attention, though, went to the villagers around us. And how tired they all looked. "They've lost so much…" She sighed, looking down. "I hope we can learn why this all happened. It won't change anything, but maybe we can at least make _sense_ of things."

"I'd like that too," Amelia mumbled. She also looked down, but while Tana was just resigned, Amelia looked like she was holding back tears. "Emperor Vigarde was always so nice. He gave food and supplies even to the most remote of villages, the ones who couldn't pay their taxes. And Prince Lyon would visit the most distant of places to heal the injured and sick, when he could. I just don't…"

"That's why I'd love to find out more." Tana hugged Amelia, letting her rest on her shoulder. "Nothing about this makes any sense."

"No, it doesn't."

I stepped away for a moment, mostly to give Amelia a bit more space. However, I frowned as the sound of clanging metal caught my ear and I turned to see a group of Grado soldiers approaching, not enough for an attack, but certainly more than one would expect for a patrol. Their dark looks confirmed my suspicion; they were here to capture people. That they went directly to the villagers hinted they had been coming here to take them hostage.

On the one hand, that did make me feel a little better, since it all made me relatively certain we didn't bring this on them. On the other hand? They were surrounding us, and the three of us didn't have our weapons on us. They were with Brynhildr and Achaeus, who were too far away to help. Any attempts to fight would just lead to dead civilians, and badly injured us.

Well, this was just our luck.

* * *

"Why do we keep running into psychopaths among Grado's soldiers?" I groaned, fussing with my gauntlets. Thankfully, they were idiotic psychopaths. Sociopaths. Whichever. Regardless, they didn't try to take off my gauntlets. Hadn't even patted us down for hidden weapons. I appreciated their stupidity. "What was his name? Gheb?"

"I believe so," Tana replied absently. She was more focused on tending to a bruise a child had picked up because these cells were small and we kept banging into the bars or walls. I was doubly grateful that they didn't take off the gauntlets so that I had the medicine on hand. Arm. Whatever. "Why?"

"I'm debating feeding him to Brynhildr, but I'm afraid she'll choke on his ego." I leaned against the wall, careful to not accidentally kick the young woman who had curled up on the ground near my feet. We were all thrown into cells, with Tana and I managing to get thrown into the same one. Amelia was in the neighboring one. "Amelia, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can," Amelia confirmed. The bars of her cell clanged a bit; she must've leaned on it. "Do you have a plan?"

"Well, Tana and I have our beautiful mounts somewhere outside, and I do have my knife," I reminded. Because, again, they hadn't even tried to pat us down. And, we had our armor still. It was, frankly, ridiculous. "If someone can figure out how to get out of the cells…?"

"I don't intend on waiting for a rescue, no. Can you imagine how smug Ephraim would be?" I made a face at the mere thought, and Amelia giggled. Tana, pushing her way towards me, hid a smile. "Assuming this Gheb isn't planning on offing us to make a statement. Or use us as hostages."

"Or worse." Amelia's voice was bitter. "Gheb is a former criminal who was 'released for service', rather like Valter."

"Really?"

"Yes. Honestly, most of the bad ones we've run into have been people I remember hearing had been arrested. Well, the ones that didn't just come with Riev, I think."

"Riev?" Tana repeated. She glanced at me, and I shrugged. I didn't know him either. "Who's Riev?"

"Another of the generals, one of the new ones like Valter and Caellach," Amelia explained. She sighed, and I got the impression she was shaking her head. "The Blood Beryl. I don't know much about him. No one does. He uses light magic, and sticks close to the Emperor and the prince. And he brought a wealth of dark mages who live up to the stereotypes, unlike Prince Lyon and his colleagues."

"Really?" Tana frowned, and I could tell she was thinking what I was thinking. Was Riev the one responsible? "When did he appear?"

"After the fall of Renais." Well, that… it didn't dispute the theory, but that timing did make it slightly more questionable. "Anyway, we need to leave. Gheb has a… reputation." Amelia paused just long enough for me to realize what this 'reputation' was. It shouldn't have surprised me, given Valter, but still… "I was actually supposed to be stationed here originally, but General Selena got me transferred."

"She did?"

"General Selena looks a lot after the young female soldiers." Amelia gently knocked on the bars of her cell. "She saw Gheb dragging me off and intervened, getting me sent up to Carcino instead."

"I'm told she tried to get the Frelian soldiers to surrender at the Tower…"

"Going to point out that she also turned a bunch of the soldiers into charcoal," I reminded, perhaps a little more tartly than I should've. But I didn't understand this mentality of 'being a good person, yet willingly serving a madman'. Though, I supposed she might've felt trapped. But still… ugh, I didn't even know. "Ways to get out?"

"Well, there is a guard coming this way," Tana noted, leaning against the bars of the cell. "Hello?" She waved through the bars and smiled charmingly. "Can you come over here, please? I'm very bored."

"Tana, there's no way that's going to…" The guard appeared and I bit my tongue as Tana struck up a conversation. Apparently, it _could_ work.

So, instead, I leaned back a little and undid the buckles on my left gauntlet to get the knife. Then I waited for Tana to give me some sort of signal. After a moment, Tana glanced at me and then stepped to the side, clasping her hands behind her back coyly, and I used the distraction to stab the guard in the throat. I covered their mouth to muffle their scream and slowly let them drop. Blood gushed out of the wound and poured over my arm and their shirt, but Tana ignored the blood to search their belt, coming up with a bunch of keys. I checked the soldier was actually dead while she fiddled with the lock, twisting oddly to make sure she could get it in. Once she did, she immediately opened the cell and went to work on the others, starting with Amelia.

However, as we were getting people out, we had our first complication. Or second. Whichever. The point was that another soldier appeared, staring at us with very wide eyes. I gripped my dagger and stepped forward, prepared to kill them for silence, but Amelia got in the way instead, and held up her hands in an obvious 'I mean no harm' gesture. "These are civilians," she whispered, a touch desperately. "They were taken from their homes. Please…"

"I…" the soldier began. They hesitated before nodding. "I didn't see anything. Go, quickly."

"Thank you!" She breathed a sigh of relief as they ran and then turned to the rest of us. Tana was still getting people out, but I was giving her the most incredulous look I could. "What?"

"Not something that I'd expect to work," I replied. That was two for two today. "That's all."

"I remembered a lot of soldiers not being certain of the war. I know there's propaganda, but I thought I would see…" she explained, before shrugging. "We should move, just in case they were tricking us. That's still a possibility."

"True." But now, I wondered if it had been 'idiocy' that made them leave us with our armor. I wondered if they had been trying to help, in their own way. "Let's help Tana, then."

"Yes."

It took a moment to get everyone out, and to tend to the injuries they had. But as soon as we did, we starting moving, hunting for a window. The sounds of fighting in the distance hinted that the others had started the assault, which explained why we ran into so few soldiers. Still, we did have to dart down some random halls to avoid encounters and navigate a few stars before we could safely reach one.

As soon as we did, though, I leaned out and laughed when I saw Brynhildr dive down almost instantly. She, and Achaeus who dove after her, had clearly been waiting for us. "Good girl," I whispered, petting her nose. I climbed out the window and unhooked my lance. "Amelia!" I tossed her the lance and then repeated the process for Tana when Achaeus got close. "I'll get them out, if you two have to fight."

"Thanks!" Tana shouted back. She immediately settled into a stance. Apparently, soldiers had already appeared. "Let's go, Amelia!"

If Amelia replied, I didn't hear. I just focused on helping the villagers out, the youngest ones first. Quite a few were terrified of Brynhildr, but she held herself perfectly still and let them use her as a ladder to safely climb down. Achaeus helped the ones who slipped a little, though a few still did land hard on the ground. But no one died, and they moved quite a bit faster when the fighting grew closer; Tana and Amelia were being pushed back.

When I got the last one out, I leaned inside again and caught Amelia by the shoulder. "Come on!" I urged, pulling her towards me. Amelia nodded and climbed out, giving Brynhildr a kiss on the head before sliding down. "Tana!" Tana parried and gutted another soldier before running towards me. She jumped out to avoid an arrow, and I caught her easily, trusting Brynhildr to catch us as we fell back. She did, of course, beautifully, though Tana and I did slide a bit. Achaeus helped us steady ourselves and, just like that, we were outside. All of us were outside. Not quite certain where we were, but hey.

"There you are." Before Tana and I could think of getting on our mounts and flying up, Cormag and Genarog swooped down, looking at everyone with the most exasperated look. "What happened?" he asked with a sigh. Tana, Amelia, and I just grinned. It was enough of an answer for now. "Oh, whatever. Vanessa! Found them!"

"Oh, good." Vanessa soon joined us and she also looked exasperated. "I'm not even going to ask," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of course you got into trouble. Why wouldn't you get into trouble?"

"You can scold us later," Tana pointed out. She swung onto Achaeus and buckled herself in. "We need to get the villagers to somewhere safer."

"We do." Vanessa glanced over at Cormag. "Think you can tell the others?"

"Brynhildr can do it, once she and Emma are up," Cormag replied. I emphasized the words by getting into the saddle and also buckling myself in. Amelia tried to pass me the lance, but I shook my head. I had my bow and arrows, after all. "You want to drop Amelia off, though?"

"I can do that," Vanessa refused. She looked a little annoyed, but for once, I didn't think it was actually at us. "After all, our orders were just to try and figure out where these three went. Didn't expect captured, though."

Cormag shrugged and, in tandem, he and I took to the air, letting Tana, Amelia, and Vanessa handle the villagers. As soon as we were high in the sky, Brynhildr screeched triumphantly, and I saw quite a few people look up. I grinned when I managed to catch Ephraim's eye, and I winked and blew him a kiss. He smiled warmly before resuming whatever he'd been doing. Ordering troops, likely.

"How are things going?" I asked, looking for other people. I waved at Eirika when I saw her, and winked at Joshua when he looked up. I couldn't really see anyone else in the chaos. "Besides, you know, a battle?"

"Well, but slow," Cormag answered. He looked down as well, observing the pattern. "Grado has an advantage in defenses, though the soldiers aren't fighting as hard as I normally see."

"I wonder if their morale is down."

"Could be. There's only so much one can take before you go crazy." He looked saddened for a moment before shaking his head abruptly. No doubt he was thinking of how we were fighting the very people he 'should have' been fighting alongside. "I wonder who is in command here."

"Someone named Gheb." I noticed Cormag's expression darken immediately. "I take it you know of him."

"I helped Selena bring him in, actually. I told her she should've just electrocuted him with a Bolting tome, but no, she had wanted to follow the law." He sighed. "Stubborn as a wyvern, she is."

"You know her well?"

"Selena joined the army around the same time Glen and I did." He winced slightly at General Glen's name. "She was away from everything she knew too, so Duessel kept an eye on her, same as he did with my brother and me. I guess you could call her a sister."

"Ah." I decided against asking more. I had no idea what to say anyway. "So, do you want to find Gheb?"

"Sure, why not? We have do orders and there's no aerial force to deal with."

"Surprising, that."

"They might still be trying to organize things. Glen was well liked. I can't imagine a lot of them willingly serving Valter. Which I kind of condemned-"

"You didn't do anything." I reached over to grip his shoulder, but did smile wryly when he fave me a 'really?' look. "Okay, you did almost fall for a trap. I'm more saying that you didn't condemn anyone."

"Sure." His smile became bitterer and I wished I knew what to say. I was bad at comforting people. The madness with Orson proved that well, but I was constantly reminded of it. "Gheb?"

"I am a bit worried about poor Brynhildr choking on his ego, personally, but sure." I was still a bit worried, but there honestly wasn't much that I could do. "Let's see… if I was a leader with a complex, where would I be?"

We flew over the battlefield a few times before we finally noticed him shouting orders from the roof 'safely' away from everyone. Bad orders at that. I really wasn't all that impressed by him, which made the whole 'getting captured' thing bother me a _lot_ more. Still, he made a funny noise when Cormag and I landed by him. It made me smile.

"What do you pieces of trash think you're doing?!" he snapped, bringing out his axe. I pulled an arrow from my quiver to aim it at his face. "Wait, I know you." It was all the easier because he focused on Cormag. "You were with the bitch you spoiled my fun, the traitor raised by that washed-up coward, Duessel."

"Wow, you've actually got a bite this time," Cormag replied. He smiled slowly, a distinctly vicious smile, and that made me pause. "Last time I saw you, you were tearfully begging for your life. But I see getting some command gave you a bit of courage."

"What was that?!" Gheb took a step forward. "I'll kill you."

"No. You won't." Cormag leaned back in his seat and Genarog lunged forward, fangs and claws bared.

Gheb got one chance to scream before Genarog tore into him. I stayed where I was, still a bit frozen, and Brynhildr shifted backwards slightly. Both of us were a little unnerved by the display, especially when Genarog finally stopped his assault. There wasn't much of Gheb after that. In fact, there was so little that I wondered if that was what General Glen had looked like, after Valter was done. I didn't like the thought. I didn't like how vicious Cormag's smile still was. It made me very worried of what he'd do when we _did_ confront Valter again.

"Might've given you a fairer shot if you didn't insult my family," he whispered, so softly that I knew he was merely thinking aloud. "Genarog, how are you?" He leaned down to pat Genarog's neck and Genarog crooned back. "Did you get a stomachache?"

"I told you the ego would choke them," I 'joked'. It felt a little flat to me, but Cormag laughed anyway. "So, we say that Genarog remembered him and took offense?"

"Sure, that sounds good." He looked up and finally noticed my worry. "Emma?"

"It's nothing." I made sure to smile, and mentally vowed to keep near him until Valter was dead. Just in case. "Shall we return to the skies?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

When the battle was over, we left the Frelian soldiers to clean up the fort and made our own camp a short distance away, firmly in Grado territory. While setting up, Innes refused to let Tana out of his sight, Amelia was 'conveniently' assigned to Franz for after-battle chores, and Joshua snatched me up to help in the infirmary. None of it was subtle. I had a sneaking suspicion that the others weren't going to let us do 'visit villages before a battle' thing ever again. Ah well. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave camp long anyway, at least until things were settled.

"Goodness, they act like I jump into trouble," I laughed to myself after Natasha dismissed me to 'go rest'. Really, Joshua went to do more work. He had to make sure the Jehannan mercenaries were cooperating well with the others. I, however, had no duties, and could actually go rest. "Now, where should I go?" Brynhildr was settled in until dinner. Neimi would still be doing chores. All of the royals would be in meetings… Not being in charge of anything really gave you a lot of free time.

A bit of rustling caught my attention, and I headed towards it, a bit curious. I walked towards a nearby tree and, after a moment, looked up to see Myrrh. A very contrite Myrrh, whose hair was actually stuck in some branches. "Um… hello?" she squeaked, looking a little red in the face. She tried to tug her hair out, but winced. "Ow…"

"Want some help?" I asked. As soon as she nodded, I started climbing up. "How did you get stuck up here?"

"Some soldiers were passing by, and they were loud, so I flew up here to hide." She tucked her wings tightly to her back and pulled her cloak over them. "When they disappeared, though, I got stuck."

"I'll say." Her hair was really tangled up here. I almost wanted to cut it, but I was making some progress. "I'm glad I was walking past."

"I am too." She smiled shyly and nodded when I finally got her hair untangled. "Thank you."

"No problem." I studied her hair for a moment before smiling back. "Hey, why don't I brush your hair? You've got tangles from other things."

"Um… sure…"

"Then here, let's get down from here."

It took a bit to help Myrrh down, since she was used to flying, not climbing, but when we did, I took her hand and walked her to my tent. From there, I got her settled among some blankets and carefully began brushing her hair. Myrrh was nervous at first, but she gradually relaxed and even poked through my small collection of perfumes.

"This one smells really pretty," she murmured. I glanced over her shoulder to see it was the susinum. "It reminds me of the perfume Evelyn would wear. A little."

"Does it?"

"Yes, she and Kasimir always smelled nice." She giggled and it took me a moment to realize just who she was talking about. "Though it's more complex than what she wore. Hers was simpler."

"I imagine it was harder to make perfume, in those days."

"Yes." She still smiled gently at the scent, and I wished I had one to spare to just give her. But that vial was my only one. I'd ask Joshua if he had a second one for her, or if we could send a request with whatever messenger he sent to Jehanna. "She and Kasimir were so startled by how bad the camps smelled. They took to setting perfumes and incense everywhere, stating that people couldn't think well with so many bad smells."

"Did you know them long?"

"I don't think so, but it was a warm time." She curled into herself. "They found me shortly before they joined the armies in the war, and took care of me. I miss them." I could understand that. They'd been dead for a long, long time. "Now, though, it feels like someone is undoing all their work…" She looked up, her eyes distant. "Everything flows from that direction. My lost dragonstone… the dark energy… everything." She looked back to me. "The soldiers say the prince is the one who ordered the war. I heard that, as they were passing."

"That's odd. He told Eirika that the war happened because he was too weak to stop it." I supposed he could've lied, but that seemed… I didn't think he had. "Maybe it's a rumor that spread? It isn't uncommon, and we already know there's false rumors about the Renasi twins going about for propaganda." Telling the people that their beloved prince ordered the war could make people feel more 'comfortable' with the war.

"It could be. But it makes Eirika and Ephraim sad."

"They'll be fine. But you can smile at them." I leaned around to smile at her for emphasis. "You have a sweet smile."

"Oh." Myrrh stared a moment before looking away, blushing a bit. "Well, I can… try…"

"That's all anyone could ask of you." It was hard to believe she was so much older than me. Though, considering her apparent age, I wondered if this meant dragons went through centuries of puberty. That didn't sound fun at all. "And you're tangle free. Let's get your hair done up." As I worked on getting her hair into the pigtails, I noticed she actually tied them much like L'arachel tied hers, with the one loop to secure them and then the two loops around. It was a rather interesting thing to notice, and I wondered if Myrrh picked it up from Rausten. Or if Rausten had picked it up from the manaketes.

I'd just finished with the pigtails when someone knocked on my tent and stepped inside. "Ah, this is where you are, Lady Myrrh," Saleh murmured, bowing his head slightly. He looked a little confused, but I shrugged. I gathered he was confused by why I didn't freak out more, but honestly, after Orson and Monica, I doubted much was going to make me panic. "Is everything okay?"

"My hair was tangled, so Emma fixed it," Myrrh explained. I noticed she smiled more easily around Saleh, and almost laughed. Though I did worry that I'd been too forward and made her uncomfortable again. "Did you need me for something?"

"No, I simply was worried. I thought you might have been stuck in a tree again." He tilted his head as Myrrh coughed in embarrassment and I desperately bit back snickers. "Ah, that did happen."

"Emma is very nice." Myrrh coughed again, but it did nothing to hide her blush. "Um… Saleh, can you come with me to speak with Princess Eirika? I'm sure Ephraim is busy still."

"I can, though she seems saddened by something." Saleh frowned a bit. "I do not know what, though."

"Then we can work together to try and cheer her up?" She glanced at me and I smiled encouragingly. "Shall we?"

"Of course." Saleh smiled apologetically at me, but I waved it off, completely unbothered. "This way."

The two left my tent and I cleaned up a bit, being certain to tuck the susinum away in a safe place, to put in General Glen's saddlebag in the morning. Afterwards, I stepped out of the tent and wandered around, curious as to what was going on for now. Eventually, I came across Ephraim and Seth in the middle of an intense 'discussion', the ones where if either had a little less poise, it would be an outright argument. I lingered by, wondering if I should go elsewhere but also very curious by what was going on, but Seth caught my eye and nodded, subtly asking me to join them. So, I did, moving very quietly until I could scare Ephraim by 'attacking' his side. He yelped, startled, and scowled at my laughter. He softened when I hugged him though.

"I'm sure what they're saying about Lyon is a misconception," I whispered to him. Seth bowed and left, excusing himself. "It's probably due to something odd and now, the rumors spread."

"You already know, then?" he asked, kissing my cheek. He smirked at my blush. "I'm somehow unsurprised."

"Myrrh was worried. Reassure her later. She's cheering up Eirika with Saleh right now."

"Is she now?" He looked back to where Seth had been, but seeing he was gone, turned his attention back to me. "I'm hoping, truthfully, that I can get a message to Duessel and at least convince him to let me meet Lyon." He smiled bitterly. I had a feeling this was what he and Seth were 'debating'. "Of course, if it comes to a fight…"

"You will do your duty. As you should." I ran my hand through his hair and smiled reassuringly, hoping it relaxed him. I had no doubts the coming days would be hard of quite a few of our army. "But I do think you need a break. You can help me give Brynhildr a bath."

"Is that a break or a punishment?"

"It's a convenient excuse to spend time with me."

"Break, then." He caught my hand and pulled me closer, resting his forehead against mine. "You can also tell me how you three got into trouble. And out."

"Of course." I grinned. "Disappointed you couldn't play my knight in shining armor?"

"Only a trifle."

"Good." I kissed him and he kissed me back. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Myrrh told me you were the one who encouraged her to come talk to me," Eirika mentioned as we prepared for bed. Though, it was mostly just rubbing in some lotion Tethys insisted we use before going to bed. I thought it silly, but it did smell _wonderful_ , so we went along with it. "Thank you. I had a lovely discussion with her and Saleh."

"I thought that might cheer you up," I replied, twisting to stretch my back. I winced when my spine popped. "Ugh, sitting all the time is murder on your lower back."

"We should invest in a massage therapist." Eirika giggled and attempted to braid back her hair for bed. I stopped her almost immediately and did it myself. She really was the _worst_ at braiding. Ephraim had done mine before I turned in for the night. "But yes, it was fun. We talked about the Heroes a bit. Myrrh knew them. She was surprised we found Queen Evelyn's journal. She didn't think it would still be around."

"Is Myrrh mentioned in it?"

"She is! Myrrh got so embarrassed, but I found it adorable. Saleh was very reassuring to her though." Eirika began blushing, and I looked around at her curiously. "I… I think I really have fallen for him. Saleh, I mean. And that I'm no longer in love with Lyon."

"Really?"

"Yes." She smiled slightly. "I mean; I still adore Lyon. He's very important to me, and I can't wait to see him again. But it no longer feels quite the same and, when I heard the rumors that he started the war, I was heartbroken, but I didn't feel devastated. It ached, but not as much as I would expect." She laughed bitterly, though she did still blush. "Part of me is sad about it. It's like I lost another piece of my old life. Everything is so different."

"You're telling me!" I went back to braiding her hair, smiling warmly. I was glad she had figured it out. "A year ago, I never thought I would ever meet you guys. Now, you're my best friend, and I'm kissing your brother."

"And tricking him into splash battles while cleaning Brynhildr."

"That was Brynhildr's fault. She was trying to get Genarog." Cormag and Tana had joined in, since she'd been helping him. I was going to tell her, later, my worries about Cormag letting his temper override his kindness, but for now… "You're right, though, everything is different. You are different. It makes sense that you would fall for someone else."

"I suppose." She sighed gustily. "Of course, now I don't know what to _do_ with said knowledge."

"Your choice." I tied off her braid and shifted to her side and poked her cheek. "My recommendation is to seduce Saleh. You might need to dress up as a book, though."

"Emma!" She went red again and I laughed and laughed. "You're incorrigible."

"Just a little." I stuck my tongue out childishly and she rolled her eyes. "Some things stay the same, even when other things change."

"That's true." She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I've noticed it in battle as well. I've become much faster, more skilled, though my damage output is rather… middling…" She frowned a little and I tried to think of how to respond. She wasn't exactly wrong, after all. She was stronger than she had been before, but she was still one of the physically weaker ones in the army. "I half wonder if I should take up magic again."

"...Again?" I gave her a weird look. "You know magic?"

"Lyon taught me the basics." She shrugged, and smiled. "It's mostly the basics of dark magic, though?"

"Really?" That surprised me. "Dark magic?"

"Dark magic isn't well regarded and can be used for horrible things, but it can be used for good as well. It was not inherently evil. No more than, say, the night." She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling. I had a feeling she was quoting Lyon there. "Lyon did a lot of research into how it could help people, actually. He was also good with staves!"

"Really?"

"Yes, he's incredible! I'm sure he and Saleh would be fast friends, actually." She blushed again, but I chose against pointing it out. She was too happy for me to tease. Yet. "Truthfully, Lyon is as skilled with magic as Ephraim is at weapons. Though, he'd always deflect praise. He's really humble like that." Eirika giggled, but I thought of how surprised Lyon had been by the praise I had relayed. I wondered if… "What is it?"

"It's nothing, exactly." I just wondered if Lyon had been 'humble', as Eirika assumed, or if he had genuinely believed... but, then again, I had only met him once. I could be horribly wrong. "Just a theory on someone I barely know. Which probably means its wrong." It still bothered me, though. "So, did he just teach you?"

"He tried to teach Ephraim, but Ephraim has absolutely no aptitude. Truthfully, I might be more suited for magic, but…." She shrugged, her eyes still holding a question about the original topic. But she nodded when I shook my head. I really didn't want to get into it. "Well, I can't abandon the sword now."

"Why not both?"

"...Both?"

"Look, if everyone made me, the flier, learn bows alongside my lances, I think we can make you learn tomes." I grinned and, after a moment, she smiled. "Besides, it's a good excuse to spend time with Saleh, yes? Get that-"

"Emma!" She smacked me with a pillow, but I smirked, unrepentant. "Again, you're incorrigible."

"And you love me anyway." I fell back into the blankets and curled up in them. "I'm tired. Let's get to bed."

"Good night."

"Sweet dreams."

* * *

 _Notes on… no one, apparently, because I haven't heard the names of anyone who joined up. This is freaking weird. But, then again, I suppose it's only natural that I won't hear of everyone who joins up, nowadays. We've become quite the large army now, instead of the small group who went to Jehanna._

* * *

Author's notes: Welcome to Ephraim's route. In this chapter, Tana is actually captured (and so you have to rescue her, because she's in a cell and unarmed), which is why we have a jailbreak scene. Amelia is also recruited on this map if you're doing Ephraim's route, by talking with her with Franz or Ephraim. The sympathetic soldier is a nod to how the intro scenes show many of the Grado soldiers being uncertain by the war. Gheb being a former criminal isn't anything in the game, but we know that something similar happened to Valter, so I thought I'd add it in. This… might actually be the first time Riev's been mentioned in this fic. Not so certain on that one.

Also, Eirika knowing magic comes from her new alt form in Heroes where she wields Gleipnir of all things. (I love the art and everything, but I am SO confused as to why they did that! XD) Some of her lines from that scene are based off of that version's Heroes dialogue. Lyon's stats in game show that he has an S rank in dark magic, and an A rank in staves (though, I believe he can get an S rank in that and is the only character in the game who can have more than one S rank), so he's clearly a _very_ skilled magic user.

Next Chapter – Turning Traitor


	31. Chapter 18) Turning Traitor

Chapter 18) Turning Traitor

* * *

 _We leave the fort behind, pressing south to the port town of Bethroen. Ephraim and Innes hope to shave off a few days travel, and avoid a lot of battles, by taking ships from there to the city of Taizel. If we can manage that, then we 'just' have to go through a swamp and have a straight shot to the capital. I find it difficult to think things would go so easily, and wonder if they remember the whole 'ghost ship' problem._

 _Then again, things have been weird. We've fought some minor skirmishes on our way to Bethroen, but honestly, it feels like… I don't know. Something feels off._

* * *

"What a beautiful day!" I gushed, stretching my hands over my head. Brynhildr crooned in agreement and nuzzled my cheek. "Later, we should fly out over the water again. You had quite a bit of fun with it." She and Genarog had actually skimmed the water, splashing about as best as flying creatures who couldn't swim could. "Made Achaeus and Titania jealous, though." Pegasi couldn't get too close to the water. The spray got caught in their feathers and made them too heavy to fly. And, like wyverns, pegasi couldn't exactly swim. "I'm still tempted to jump in and swim a bit."

Brynhildr growled affectionately and nuzzled me again. I laughed and hugged her, looking out over camp. We'd taken a break for lunch and everyone was spread about the area, relaxing. Sparring. Shy bits of flirting for some of the couples. Amelia and Franz were particularly fun to watch on that front. However, my attention was drawn to the campfire, where Saleh was helping Eirika learn how to use magic during battle. How did that come about? I 'accidentally' told Innes that Eirika knew the basics of dark magic. A magic we didn't have _any_ of, since all the dark magic specialists were in Grado. Meaning it was a potential tactical advantage and, best of all, would potentially allow her to keep Sieglinde's passive boosting abilities while also increasing the damage she did.

It was _super mean_ of me to do that, so I paid extra attention both because it was cute and because I wanted to make sure Eirika wasn't feeling overwhelmed or upset or anything. But, so far, she looked like she was enjoying herself. Even if she threatened to smother me with a pillow when she learned what I did. It turned into a fun little pillow fight, particularly when we dragged Tana and L'arachel into it. Though, Tethys had scolded us for staying up too late.

Suddenly, there was a small, sharp jolt underneath my feet, startling me from my thoughts. I yelped and clung to Brynhildr, expecting the ground to cave under me. A few sharp shakes nearly unbalanced me, and I wondered just what the hell was going on. But then it all stopped, everything perfectly fine. I'd assume it was all in my head or me overreacting, except I could see most of the others shaken and some items had fallen over. A few of the tents had even collapsed.

"Was… was that an earthquake?" I asked quietly, carefully testing the ground. Just in case. Or something. "That…" I'd never experienced one before. Renais rarely got them. "Is everyone okay?"

Most were, thankfully, though a few got badly tangled in the fallen tents and needed assistance in escaping. A few jars shattered and needed to be cleaned up. The realization that things had actually broken had me worried for the infirmary, so as soon as I could, I ducked into the tent to make sure everything was okay. To my surprise, unlike the outside, it was perfectly calm. Ish. Moulder and L'arachel looked a little unnerved, but nothing was fallen, nothing was broken, and Natasha walked around like everything was perfectly normal.

"So, everything is fine here?" I asked quietly. Natasha turned to me and smiled serenely. "We had a few things break outside, and some collapsed tents."

"I made sure the infirmary was reinforced," Natasha explained with a little laugh. She walked over to me, still perfectly calm. I felt a little ridiculous, actually. "And I made sure all the potentially fragile things were closer to the ground, just in case."

"That's forward…" I paused as I remembered something stupidly obvious. "Oh, wait, duh, you're _from_ here."

"I am native to Grado, yes. I've grown up with earthquakes." She giggled and I facepalmed, annoyed that I'd forgotten that. And wondering how I did in the first place. I supposed I just associated her mostly with Jehanna nowadays, since she was going to live there after the war. "I imagine we'll experience a few more before we reach the capital."

"We should probably make sure we're earthquake proof at all future camps." I sighed and glanced over to where Moulder and L'arachel were. They were back to work, but I could tell L'arachel was still a little rattled. She was actually quiet, for once. "I wonder why Grado gets so many earthquakes, though." The other countries got them every once in a while, maybe, but...

"They say Grado suffers earthquakes because of the Demon King's anger. He roars and bashes against the walls of his prisons, and it echoes out." Her smile faded, though. "Most are minor, barely noticeable, but they have been stronger recently."

"Joshua mentioned that two destroyed a lot of crops."

"Yes. It makes us all worry." She sighed and shook her head. "Ah, but that is neither here nor there. Do you mind helping me with inventory, actually? We appear to be short on a couple of needed herbs, but I want to be certain before I send people out."

"Oh, yeah, sure." It wasn't like I was really doing anything and having something to do might help me recover from the earthquake. That had just been plain _weird_. "Where should I start?"

* * *

When Bethroen came into view, the fliers were all sent out. It was strange seeing so many after being one of only four for so long, though Cormag and I stuck together. As we flew, Tana and Vanessa's patrol path intercepted ours and the four of us, together again, flew over the port town itself to get a lay of the land. It was the most dangerous patrol, because it brought us closest to potential enemy arrows, which was why Cormag and I had the patrol. Wasn't sure why Tana and Vanessa did. I'd ask, but now wasn't the time and, honestly, I'd forget later. Oh well.

"Well, they're definitely waiting for us," Tana summarized, peering down. She patted Achaeus's neck as he tossed his head back in agitation. "Unless it's normal for there to be so many soldiers in the port."

"Not like this," Cormag murmured. He accepted some water from Vanessa and passed it back, studying the patrol patterns below. "Soldiers are set up, look ready to fight, though that's more a more relaxed formation than something for imminent battle."

"Maybe they don't know how close we are?"

"We're not exactly the most subtle group with hundreds of pegasi flying through the sky, and there's not many choices in how to march. Renvall is probably similarly fortified." He smiled slightly when Tana made a face. "Anyone see a coat of arms?"

"Right there," Vanessa answered, pointed to a flag flapping proudly in the breeze. More proudly, in fact, than the Grado flag next to it. "It's familiar, but…"

"It's Duessel's, so it's probably familiar because he was often send out as an emmisary," Cormag explained. His grip tightened on the reins, and I rested a hand on his shoulder. Brynhildr crooned and nudged his leg reassuringly. "He'd be willing to talk, I'm pretty sure. He's been very outspoken over how little he cares for this war." A sudden burst of activity below made us all tense, worried we'd been spotted. But no, their attention stayed on the ground. "What's going… well, there's Selena." He pointed to the blonde woman on a horse, shouting orders. "Chasing someone from the looks of it. My guess is a deserter." He sighed, but then suddenly stiffened and leaned forward. "Wait, she's chasing Duessel?"

"She's chasing an older man with greying hair and Grado red armor." Vanessa frowned. "Why would…?"

"Can you two let everyone know what's going on?" Cormag twisted to face Vanessa and Tana. "Pegasus knights will stand out, but Emma and I can swing a bit closer and see if we catch anything." Vanessa nodded curtly and immediately arced around to head back. Tana lingered worriedly for a moment longer before following. "If we head to the side…"

"I'm following you in this," I pointed out. This was not my area of expertise in the slightest. "Just go for it. Brynhildr knows to follow."

Cormag smiled slightly before having Genarog arc around. True to form, Brynhildr followed, flying a little bit higher than him so that I had a better chance of covering should things go wrong. The path brought us over the waters, hopefully out of range of archers. So, it was a surprise when Cormag suddenly dropped. Fear flooded me as Brynhildr and I followed, wondering if Genarog had been shot or something. But Genarog seemed perfectly fine, not growling or screeching in the slightest, pulling sharp turns that made my head spin just watching. So, I just focused on not dying or anything until Cormag stopped abruptly and then I looked around to figure out what was going on. Of course, seeing Selena just staring up at us did nothing to really assuage my confusion, but you know, whatever? We weren't dead? Yay?

"Cormag?" she called, smiling hesitantly. She was more drawn than last time I saw her, with bags under her eyes. "I'm… glad to see you're doing well."

"Certainly wasn't expecting to see you here, chasing down Duessel," Cormag replied, a little too dryly. Still, Brynhildr and I hovered awkwardly nearby, not quite sure what to do. "You also look like hell."

"As always, you are so polite." Despite the dry retort, her smile softened and Cormag laughed a bit. However, her eyes darted to me, in my definitely-not-Grado armor. I doubted any of their wyvern riders wore leather armor, certainly not the black leather I wore. "So, you turned against Grado, then…"

"Grado turned against me, Selena. The emperor betrayed my brother when he released Valter, and when he remained silent at Glen's death. At Valter's hand, at that." Cormag didn't quite glare, but he was definitely stern, all good humor gone. "And now, you're going after Duessel. Who raised us."

"It's the emperor's command." Selena said the words automatically. I felt like rolling my eyes, but stopped myself to instead look around. The sounds of battle slowly meandered over on the wind, and I pushed myself up to see that fighting had broken "A true knight follows their emperor's command, without hesitation."

"In that case, you're not a true knight. If you were, you would've electrocuted Duessel with your Bolting tome already. One or two hits would be enough. You're powerful and he's an old man." Cormag's retort was instant, and dry enough to use as kindling. "But you hesitate."

"That's…" Selena glowered. She didn't like that reply. "It's too crowded near him. I could hit one of my own."

"Somehow, I doubt Emperor Vigarde would care. Not anymore." Cormag sat back in his saddle and I tensed, remembering how he let Genarog rip into Gheb. But Genarog didn't do anything besides continue to hover in the air. "But yes, a true knight completely follows an emperor who no longer cares. Blind obedience, the perfect show of loyalty."

" _Trust_ , Cormag. Trust is how a knight shows their loyalty."

"Is that really what it means to be a knight? Is that what it means to owe someone your life? Continuing to trust them, follow their every order, even when your heart and conscience are screaming?" With each word, Cormag's voice became more and more insistent. Passionate. Desperate. I just continued to awkwardly watch, not sure what else to do. "Or do you try to correct their mistakes? Do you try to live up to the beliefs they instilled in you?"

"Then what would _you_ suggest?" Now Selena was snappy, surprisingly so. Well, I thought it surprising. But, then again, I didn't know a damn thing about her. "I see what you have done, of course."

"Yes, heaven forbid I side with the people who give me the best chance I have at slaughtering my brother's murderer." When he wasn't being insistent-desperate, Cormag was _very_ good at being as sarcastic as possible. "Just stand down, Selena. You don't have to fight. You can just protect the people while we sort things out. That's what you typically did anyway, right? Protect the people?"

"I…" Selena hesitated. "But the prince…"

"You honestly think he's in _any_ danger? Really? Don't tell me you believe the lies they're spreading about Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika."

"Of course not. That's not what I meant." Selena shook her head roughly. "You've been gone and you were never close to him anyway. But the prince is-"

"What's this? Only just begun? What a disappointment." A slimy, oily voice. I didn't even need Brynhildr's sudden tensing and growling to know it was Valter and, even worse, it was Valter with a bunch of other wyvern knights to cover him. I should've been paying more attention, instead of just sitting here awkwardly. Damn it. "I did so wish to see the comedy of two famed generals hacking at each other," he continued, swooping close. I caught Cormag's arm and Brynhildr flew a bit closer to block Genarog. Both of them were frozen. "And what do I see here? Little Cormag and the delightful little prey who just grows more interesting as she gets closer to other interesting prey."

"What do you want, Valter?" Selena asked dryly. Before she was hesitant, but now, she was very annoyed. "You're supposed to be reorganizing the wyvern knights. After failing repeatedly."

"They're just so meek and boring. So many have left because the brave wyvern brothers are no longer there." Valter leaned forward with a sickening grin. Cormag unfroze enough to glare. "My, my. Here you are, Cormag. Turning your back on the emperor!"

"Valter. What do you want?"

"Right now? Talk with dear Cormag." Valter urged Evaicrag forward. Genarog made to lunge, but Brynhildr shifted a bit more in front of him. She was tensed enough to shake, though. She wanted to charge too. "Still, no one can blame you for a temporary madness, seeing what happened to your brother. If you swear fealty again, we may let you live. Wouldn't that be nice? Not dying an oathbreaker?"

"Valter." Selena glowered and brought up her tome threateningly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmm? Oh, you're to return to the capital. Emperor's orders. He has deemed you untrustworthy, because you share similar views as Duessel." Valter waved his hand, dismissing the words, but they stunned Selena enough that she almost dropped her tome. "Now then, Cormag. Will you crawl before me and beg for forgiveness?"

"...I may have broken my oaths," Cormag began slowly. Each word dripped with venom and hatred. "And I may die knowing that. But if so, I will die with my heart whole, my conscience eased. So, I reject your 'generous' offer. A dog like you will never see me crawl."

"My, my… such a sharp tongue…" Valter laughed, the sound absolutely mad. "I wonder if you'd give me more of a challenge than your brother!"

Cormag almost lunged. If I hadn't thrown my free arm in front of him, he might have. And both Genarog and Brynhildr were trembling from barely contained fury. They were all ready to strike, ready to fight, ready to kill. I, to my horror, was the only one keeping my temper, but it made sense. I was the only one of us who didn't have that much of a connection to General Glen, and I was still scared shitless of Valter. But that meant _I_ had to be the one keeping calm and _I_ had to think of what to do. While being very, very scared and very, very unnerved. So, I caught the first thought I had and ran with it. We were over water. We weren't all that high up. We could...

"Cormag, if we fight him, we are going to die," I hissed, elbowing him in the side. A quick check confirmed my suspicion. It wasn't just Valter. There were too many wyvern knights hovering just a short distance away. If we had more support, then maybe we could do something, but we were two lone soldiers far away from everyone else. "And the wyverns are going to lose it. What was it that you once told me? You and Genarog make sure to trade off?"

"That… damn that you make sense," Cormag growled. He shook under my grip, more than ready to charge anyway. More than ready to die if it meant taking Valter with him. "Suggestions, then?"

"We jump. Let the wyverns have at it."

"Oh, I can agree to that." His grin was decidedly vicious, and both Genarog and Brynhildr growled in approval. "Okay. Good compromise."

"Glad you like it." Feeling uneasy, I snagged my quiver and my bow, since I hadn't brought my lance for a 'simple patrol' like an idiot. Cormag gripped his lance. Valter's grin grew, ready for carnage. However, Cormag and I quickly unbuckled ourselves and dropped out of the saddle, giving Genarog and Brynhildr free rein. The last thing I saw before I hit the water with a very painful, bone chilling splash was Brynhildr crashing into Evaicrag and Genarog looming over Valter with teeth bared.

Then it was the water. The cold, cold, _very fucking cold_ , water. And pain because apparently falling into water could hurt. And panic because last time I was underwater was when I nearly drowned in that river, way back when all of this began. Right before I met Brynhildr.

But, thankfully, this was a little more controlled, so I was able to break the surface before long and swim over to the shore. Blood rained from the sky, marking a twisted, rippling path of just where Genarog and Brynhildr were fighting. A few wyvern riders fell dead in the water, the resulting waves swamping me. Combined with keeping my grip on my bow and quiver… it was a bit difficult getting out. Cormag made it before me, though, and helped me climb out of the water. Of course, this was right by Selena, still armed and on her horse, but you know, I'd take death by magic or horse instead of death by wyvern or drowning.

"I… need to leave, it seems," Selena murmured. She clicked her tongue and her horse did some weird hop-skip… something to back up. "I must speak to the emperor…"

"Wait a moment, Selena!" Cormag called. He stepped forward, one hand outstretched. Selena hesitated still, wincing, but she still left. I thought her… I wasn't sure what to think anymore, truthfully. "Damn it…"

"I think you got somewhat through to her," I replied, mostly to reassure him. After all, I wasn't sure if he had or not. Or if it was a good thing or not if he had. "Regardless, mind if I ask about something?"

"Ah… sure." Cormag turned back towards me, expression locked up. "What is it?"

"You mentioned owing everything, even your lives, to Emperor Vigarde? Or something like that?" I checked that my quiver was intact, and that I had all my arrows, before undoing my braid to try and wring out my hair. I was _soaked_. Which made sense, but still. "Mind if I ask what you meant?"

"Ah, that…" Cormag hesitated and then sighed, taking off his armor to wring out his shirt. "My brother and I aren't nobly born or well off or anything. Not like Duessel, or Valter. Long line of dirt-poor farmers. The town was nothing special, but it was home. Our parents died when we were young, but no one was lonely or anything."

"Sounds like my life in Rosewatch, before depression kicked in." I stopped with my hair and subtly tried to dry out my skirt. It was muddy, as were my boots. Blech… "So, how did you end up in the army?"

"One day, for some reason, the emperor's caravan passed through. Glen and I watched the glorious procession from the top of a tree. We always loved heights. But that height let us see a few stray dogs harrying the soldiers." Cormag buckled on his armor again, and used my shoulder as brace while he worked off one of his boots. "So, we did what we normally did when animals came bothering. Drove them away with rocks and the like. Of course, that nearly got us arrested."

"For what? Animal cruelty?"

"We… ah… didn't just hit the dogs. We got a couple of the soldiers as well. Glen accidentally got one right in the face, and his eye was turning a pretty purple-black while he screamed at us." He got the boot off and shook out a bunch of water, and even a couple of rocks somehow. "They threw us in a room, debating what to do, and then Emperor Vigarde walked inside." Cormag closed his eyes and smiled, completely ignoring he was on one foot, leaning on me, and holding his boot. "He took one look at us and then whirled on the soldiers. 'What are you doing, arresting children? They were trying to help!' He scolded them with those words, in a stern yet calm voice. Glen and I stared, not sure what was going on, and then Emperor Vigarde turned back to us and invited us to dine with him."

"Oh, that had to be a shock." I unbuckled my own armor and awkwardly tried to get some of the trapped water out. I was cold and couldn't move. This sucked.

"You're telling me!" At least Cormag was in a good mood again. "And we were kids, meaning we had no basic manners and we didn't even think to really wash up or anything before it. We prattled and droned on and on about the most idiotic things. Chores, the village, the crops… but it didn't matter. He listened. He asked questions. He regarded us with a fatherly smile and, during a moment, invited us to leave with him to the capital. He thought we could be very good knights."

"And you did."

"It sounded like fun. It sounded like an adventure, and we were craving adventure. It was a bit odd and lonely at first, being in the city, but Duessel kept an eye on us, and we met Selena before long. She had a similar experience, so we all bonded pretty quickly."

"Similar?"

"Yeah…" He finally seemed to remember that he was leaning on me and shifted off to pull on his boot. "Selena's common born like Glen and me, but her village? Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, and not even a fertile nowhere. A couple of bad harvests left them desolate and impoverished, unable to feed themselves or pay taxes or anything. Selena once told me of how some of the older teens planned on selling themselves to get money for food. How her parents thought about banditry or theft. All to survive."

"But then Emperor Vigarde came by?"

"No. He just sent supplies. The reigning lord complained about the lack of taxes, and Emperor Vigarde looked into it. He saw how bad off everyone was, gave that lord the third degree, and sent supplies after supplies to help them. Healers, food, building materials… anything one could think of and more." He offered me his hand and I pulled myself up to dust off the worst of the mud. "It made an impression on Selena. They were just a handful of people, in a tiny little frontier town that couldn't even pay taxes. Yet Emperor Vigarde saved them."

"So, she became a knight."

"That spring, she traveled to the capital, all on her own, to join the army. Became a soldier. Duessel saw her practicing and brought her in for knight training." Cormag sighed and checked his spear. "We all owe Emperor Vigarde so much. We honestly owe Duessel a lot too. Duessel raised us. Emperor Vigarde gave us purpose." He smiled bitterly. "Now, we're here. Glen dead, Duessel running, Selena breaking under the pressure, and I'm fighting the very country I swore to protect."

"And dripping wet."

"Right… um…" He coughed awkwardly and bowed his head. "I'm sorry. When I saw her, I had to…" He shrugged helplessly. "Seem to be causing you a lot of trouble."

"No offense, Cormag, but you've seen my boyfriend and my best friend, right? Trouble is just a part of my life now, and this isn't even as bad as Joshua sneaking into the Hall." I looked up finally and saw Genarog and Brynhildr still ripping their way through the wyvern knights above. I couldn't see Valter anymore. Sadly, I didn't see him bobbing in the waters either, so I guessed he got away. Again. "Regardless, we're soaking wet and behind enemy lines. Where do we go?"

"...Duessel." Cormag took a shuddering breath and nodded. "Duessel will guard us. I know it."

"Then let's go."

* * *

It wasn't until we had reached the battlefield proper that we realized a… I wouldn't call it a 'flaw', but more of something we forgot to consider. Our friends had no idea what happened and all they would've seen was Brynhildr and Genarog screeching and fighting viciously with no riders in sight. Not long after they got word of enemy combatants and the knowledge that we were going to fly closer to get more information. Yeah… oops…

"They're going to kill us," Cormag sighed after we killed a few enemies. We did our best to stealth, but it wasn't really our area of expertise, so soldiers did find us. And try to kill us. And we actually killed them. Because luck. And some skill. I supposed. "They're seriously, _seriously_ going to kill us."

"If we get the opportunity to explain ourselves first, we might be fine?" I replied hesitantly. I wasn't convinced of it. "Oh dear. I should've thought of that."

"To be fair, I was about to lose it, and so were the wyverns."

"True. We can blame them for it. It's not like anyone is going to question us."

"Or you could blame me?"

"Now that stuff is your business. You can be the responsible adult and report it."

"Ugh… fine, fine." He groaned as more soldiers swung around the corner. "The battle is the other way, you idiots. Why are you even back here?"

There was no answer of course. The soldiers attacked and we retaliated. Picked up a few more injuries, but nothing major enough to stop. A good thing since, in our infinite wisdom, we also _neglected to grab our packs_ and, thus, we only had the medicine I had in my gauntlet-compartment. And no bandages. Because we were brilliant. We were getting so many lectures when we got back, though hopefully, the excuse of 'Valter was here' would head off most of it.

Eventually though, we ended up in some sort of encampment. Soldiers in scratched and dented red armor rushed about, bandaging their fellows and reinforcing barricades to the north and east. A quick look showed they weren't fighting our people, but Grado soldiers, the remainder of the forces Selena and Valter had brought with them. A few yelped when they saw us, bringing up their weapons, but they paused when they saw Cormag, recognizing him. They didn't say anything, but they also didn't move. Just stared. I had an arrow ready, just in case, but I also held still, waiting for Cormag.

Cormag, for his part, looked around the camp absently, his attention eventually settling on an older man with greying hair and crimson armor, who shouted orders quickly and efficiently. "Duessel?" he called hesitantly. The man stiffened. "General Duessel?" Slowly, the man turned and faced us. No expression. No words. Just staring. "I don't suppose you have towels the two of us could borrow?"

"I think that can be arranged, Cormag," the man, Duessel, replied. He smiled slightly, softening his otherwise stern face, and gestured. A couple of soldiers ran over to give us the requested towels, ones surprisingly soft and warm. "You're okay."

"Ish." Cormag shrugged and working on toweling off the water, sweat, grime, mud, and blood. I wanted twenty baths and then decided I wanted thirty when I saw how dirty my own towel was getting as I tried to clean up too. "If you're wondering about why there's no Boltings flying about, apparently, Emperor Vigarde recalled Selena."

"Really?" Duessel frowned and crossed his arms. He glanced to the side, towards one of the barricades they'd set up before focusing on "That's unusual. Well, everything is unusual. Who told her this?"

"Valter. Which is why Genarog is up in the air and I'm on the ground, for the record."

"I thought I saw Genarog." Duessel frowned even more heavily though. "Valter… I wonder if he lied to draw things out. He adores bloodshed now." He sighed, and I paused in my toweling, noticing the odd sentence. "If the fighting ends too soon, he doesn't get to play anymore. He benefits from drawing things out."

"...Must be why he killed Glen." Cormag laughed mirthlessly, completely soiled towel dangling from his fingers. A passing soldier took it from him. "To make sure everyone was angry enough to keep going."

"Or his grudge. Glen is the one who brought down Valter before, and got him imprisoned." Duessel sighed again and then started when he happened to look at me. "Ah, I'm being impolite. I do not believe I have met your friend here, Cormag."

"You haven't," I replied, smiling even as I tried to towel off my hair. "I'd offer my hand, but I'm afraid that the sopping wet hair requires both. My name is Emma, though."

"Emma… ah, the young 'mercenary' who earned one of our wyverns," Duessel murmured, laughing softly. "Glen told me about you. He thought it funny."

"Pleased to be entertaining." I did my best to smile charming. "Also, Cormag is ignoring this, but we don't have our packs with us, so we need bandages."

"Ah, right." Duessel gestured again, and some soldiers began rummaging through their supplies. "It might take a moment. We're under siege. Guess our rear should've been defended better."

"Oh, no, it's a good thing." I gave up on cleaning myself of anymore, mostly because the towel was more filth than cloth at this point. I held it awkwardly, not sure what to do, and a soldier quickly plucked it from my hands. "We've been ambushed by so many soldiers that I probably would've shot immediately."

"Shot?" He frowned at the bow in my hand, apparently just noticing it. To be fair, though, he went from being declared a traitor to seeing Cormag was alive. This was a bad day. "I am afraid I am confused as to why you wield a bow if you are a flier."

"Everyone is. That's why they made me take it up."

"And I maintain that they're all absolutely insane, including Brynhildr who shares the family insanity," Cormag added lightly, blithely even, with a grin that was almost real. "Also, Emma neglected to mention that she's King Ephraim's lover." I squawked in protest, mostly because of just how damn casually he said it, and Duessel laughed and relaxed a little more, distinctly amused. "Look, he was going to find out within two seconds of seeing you two together. You're not a subtle couple."

"You still could've picked a better moment," I grumbled. I didn't actually mind… well, no, I did. "Rawr. I'll get you back for that. Count on it."

"Good luck on that one."

"Meh, I'll just help out a couple of the soldiers who have been eyeing you appreciatively." I grinned at his blank look. "It'll be hilarious!" I wouldn't really do it though. Well, unless it was Tana. She was still trying to decide if she was serious or if she just like looking. "Whatever. Bandages. I've medicine, but bandages. Kind of hurting."

"Right, right."

Duessel led Cormag and I inside a building to patch ourselves up. A couple of soldiers swung by to help us, but they quickly had to return to manning the barricades. They were completely on the defensive, likely because of how sudden the accusation had been. And if they weren't 'traitors' before, they were probably 'traitors' now, since they were killing Grado soldiers. Self-defense might be a thing, but I doubted anyone would care. It was rather sad, truthfully. I saw many of the soldiers crying as they fought. It hurt them to kill their countrymen. It hurt them to fight for their lives against people they once fought beside.

"You two doing all right?" Duessel asked at some point. Cormag and I had just finished bandaging the last of our injuries and were helping each other get our armor back on. "Were you that bad off?"

"The problem was that we kept getting dirt and the like into the injuries," Cormag explained with a shrug. He snapped on his last buckle and snatched up his lance again. "Meaning we had to keep cleaning them."

"I see." Duessel gestured for us to follow him, and I made sure to fetch my bow and quiver, just in case. "It seems things are quieting down. No one was expecting a two pronged attack."

"That's good." Still, Cormag looked around sadly at the soldiers. I covered my nose when a couple of soldiers puked not far from us, sickened by what they were doing. "Did you need us for something?"

"Just a curiosity. There's a pegasus knight near." Duessel pointed up and both Cormag and I instantly knew who it was. None of the pegasus knights, even the new ones that I didn't know the names of, had Tana's dark blue hair. A curious thing, actually, and one that I hoped to remember to ask about one of these days. "Think she's looking for something."

"Us, probably." Cormag waited for Tana to look in our direction before waving to catch her attention. Tana enthusiastically waved back before changing her flight pattern to head to us. "This is a little far for a lone flier."

"Who is that?"

"Oh, Princess Tana." Cormag looked around before catching Tana's attention again and pointing to an open area. "She bullied her way into the army."

"More like she ran away and then managed to logic her way into staying," I corrected. Duessel's only response was to smile in fond exasperation. "I take it you're not surprised."

"When you're as old as I am, you heard of _many_ stories like that."

"And you taught Ephraim."

"That too."

We fell silent, watching Tana arc down and land. The wind from the wings kicked up some dust and knocked over a couple of spare weapons, but Tana didn't care at all. "You're okay!" she cheered, beaming brightly. She quickly dismounted and threw herself at Cormag for a great big hug. She jumped over to me fairly quickly. "We saw Genarog and Brynhildr, but not you two and… well…"

"Yeah, things got a little complicated," I replied, smiling wryly. I patted her shoulder and then shrugged. "See, Valter showed up."

"He did?" She gasped and then turned to Cormag. "Are you okay? You look a little grimmer than normal and… actually, why are you two damp? Like, not sweat damp?"

"Because we chose to jump into the water and avoid potential death by rampaging wyvern." I glanced at Cormag, curious if he wanted to say anything. Cormag shook his head though. He didn't know how to actually answer her question. "You can imagine how mad Brynhildr and Genarog were." I purposely didn't bring up how angry Cormag had been. That wasn't mine to tell, especially if he was keeping quiet. "We're safe here with Duessel, though."

"Looks like it." She frowned at Cormag and gave him another hug before stepping back. "Okay. I'll go tell the others where you are. We've almost got the battle routed, I think. That's why Innes let me look for you guys."

"I was wondering." I looked to Duessel, watching over us curiously. "Do you have a message?"

"...Please tell Prince… no, he's king now, isn't he?" Duessel murmured. He smiled bitterly. "Please tell King Ephraim that this old fool is willing to surrender, and fight for his cause."

"I will," Tana promised. She curtseyed to him and mounted back up. "I'm off. Cormag, Emma, expect bunches of lectures!" She took to the skies again, a harsher launch than usual since her pegasus didn't have the room to canter into the sky like normal.

We watched her for a moment, before Cormag turned to Duessel. "So, you'll be fighting with us?" he asked softly. Duessel's bitter smile just… grew? Turned sad and bitter? It was difficult to describe. I half-thought he was going to laugh to avoid crying. "Really?"

"Oh, no small part of me wants to just lay down and pass," Duessel admitted easily. He sighed and rolled his shoulder, wincing a bit from pain. "I am General Duessel, the Obsidian of the Imperial Three. That name and my service to Emperor Vigarde have been my life's blood. As of this moment, both are gone, taken by the Emperor himself."

"Duessel…"

"But I have served Grado since I was small. I ran errands for knights when I was five. I joined the army as a page, learned until I was a squire, trained until I was a knight. Living in disgrace is agonizing, more agonizing than anything." Duessel looked up at the sky, and if this were a story, we'd have a convenient bit of rain. Like we did after Caellach was killed. But no such luck. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky. "Yet, I know this country still needs this old fool. So, here I am."

"Been a while since we fought together." Cormag smiled in relief. He'd been more terrified about fighting Duessel than he'd let on. "A few years?"

"Sounds about right. I handled more of the capital defenses as I got older. You, Glen, and Selena handled keeping the people safe. The eyes and hands of the emperor, protecting Grado with everything..."

I decided at that point that this was not a conversation I had a right to eavesdrop on. So, instead, I found a soldier and offered to assist with the barricade. They seized the offer of help before I even finished getting my sentence out and I spent the next however long it was covering the defenders. When I ran out of arrows, I ducked back to instead help with the injured, using the medicines I had still in my gauntlet-compartment and what medical supplies they had left. Eventually, war horns signaled the end of the battle, in our victory from what I could tell. Not long afterwards, Brynhildr and Genarog landed near us, in a spray of blood, water, and wind. Cormag and I quickly began tending to them, noticing the injuries they had, far more than I felt comfortable with. Still, the bodies bobbing in the water nearby showed they got off much better than their enemies, thanks to their advantage of being able to throw their full selves into the battle without worry of their much squishier riders.

"Men, I must apologize to you," Duessel murmured quietly at some point. I glanced back to see him standing in the middle of his surviving soldiers, head bowed and posture rigid. "You've served me well and yet, I dragged you into my mess. I promised to guard you, and yet, I failed."

"Nonsense, General!" one of the soldiers instantly retorted. The others murmured in agreement, smiling reassuringly. "You have guarded us wonderfully! You even think of our families, stuck in the middle of all this madness. So, head up, General Duessel. We're with you." There must have been some sort of signal as they all saluted in unison. "Your road is our road. Always."

"...My brave soldiers…" Duessel looked up and rubbed at his eyes, choking back tears. "Ah, I'm getting old. A sentimental old fool. But a lucky one, to have all of you."

Duessel walked through the group, talking to each one personally. Cormag and I hung back, continuing with tending to Brynhildr and Genarog. Once we were done, Cormag actually found us a couple of boxes to sit on, and he rested his head on my shoulder while we waited for our friends to join us. I hugged him back, doing what I could to reassure him.

For those who called Grado home… the worst was yet to come. This battle proved that.

* * *

When we reunited with the others, and officially brought Duessel and his soldiers into the army, I promptly got kidnapped by L'arachel to get a full health check in the infirmary, and put in a request to have replacement medicine made. And then I was thrown into a warm bath before I 'caught my death of a cold', which was bitterly amusing to me. _Then_ I was snagged by Joshua and dragged into the room of some conveniently empty house where Duessel, Ephraim, Eirika, Myrrh, and Innes were discussing something. L'arachel was in the infirmary still, so she wasn't there, and Tana was helping Cormag with bathing Brynhildr and Genarog, and cleaning their teeth. So, why was _I_ here? Myrrh asked. There had been enough wounded that Saleh had been needed at the infirmary, and Myrrh wanted another person she was semi-comfy with. That ended up being me. I wasn't sure why, but she squeaked quietly whenever Innes looked at her, so I had a sneaking suspicion that Innes just intimidated her. And then she had Duessel, whose default expression was 'stern veteran'. ...Yeah, actually, I was pretty sure why.

"Ah, I'm getting damned old," Duessel murmured after a moment. None of us said a word since, by virtue of age, Duessel had the only chair. The rest of us stood in the honestly too small for this large of a group room, crowding each other. "The stubborn young lad I taught is commanding armies, and the even more stubborn young lass who would pester everyone with questions is a skilled warrior." Duessel smiled and both Ephraim and Eirika squirmed a bit in embarrassment. "Ah, that reminds me. I should tell Emma childhood stories of you two."

"Different ones than the ones Seth has told me, please," I retorted instantly. Joshua and Duessel laughed outright, while Ephraim and Eirika protested. Innes just facepalmed. "The most embarrassing you can think of."

"Oh, there's quite a few."

"Share it with everyone, not just her!" Joshua insisted with another laugh. Innes somehow facepalmed harder. Myrrh actually giggled, though she quickly hid behind me. Ephraim was too close to Duessel and Innes for her comfort. "It'll be good for everyone. Brings the leaders down to their level."

"And what about stories about you?" Ephraim retorted instantly. He tried hide his blush, but failed miserably. "Or Innes?"

"I'm sure Tana would _love_ telling stories about her brother, and I tell my own ridiculous stories, thank you very much." Joshua grinned, unrepentant. "It's been a while since we had group singing. We can sing one of Seth's songs. It'll be great!"

"Make sure it's not one of the ones that irritates him, brother," I warned. I paused and then shook my head. "Okay, all of them do, but some more than others. Avoid the ones that nearly resulted in friends dying."

"We are incredibly off topic," Innes finally growled, glowering at all of us. Joshua and I just shrugged, unbothered. Duessel continued to laugh. "Incredibly. Off. Topic."

"Perhaps we can continue the teasing later?" Eirika added lightly. The slight awkwardness to her smile hinted she was more hoping we'd get distracted by serious stuff. "Duessel? We were hoping you could tell us more about Emperor Vigarde and the war."

"I'm afraid that I don't know much. His change was as sudden to you as it was to us. But I do know of a particularly odd coincidence," Duessel replied. He leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his lap, and waited for all of us to become serious before continuing. "A day or so after everything changed, Prince Lyon revealed a stone that he and the mages created. The temporary name was 'Dark Stone', because it was made with Dark Magic. Prince Lyon laughed when he told me and said he was bad with naming things."

"A dark stone…" Joshua murmured, crossing his arms. His eyes were pained, and I knew he was thinking of his mother. "Before she died, my mother explained that the true cause of this carried a 'dark stone', one that grew in power with the destruction of the Sacred Stone."

"Probably the same one. It gave off a bit of an uneasy presence, like the Fire Emblem, but harsher. It felt cursed, but I wasn't sure how to explain it." Duessel shrugged. "I'm not sure how they could be connected, mind, but I've seen curses warp people in the past." A dark look flicked across his face, but it was too fast to ask about. "And it was _right_ after."

"My father told me, once, of a terrible gem sometimes called the 'darksphere'," Myrrh mumbled then. She half hid behind me as she talked and I did have to nudge her a bit to make sure the others could hear her. She almost hid again when Innes focused on her. "It was made to help seal something, but on its own, it corrupted even the brightest of souls. It tainted their minds, bringing their worst emotions and traits to the service and amplifying them. A-and…" She hesitated, but pushed forward. "And that fits… the darkness that I sense from the… w-well, it's to the east now. But that wave of evil hungers. Consumes. Envelops and transforms."

"Meaning there's a chance that Emperor Vigarde was corrupted by the sphere?" Ephraim theorized. He frowned a bit, and I wished someone had thought to bring some sort of magic user into this meeting. Saleh would've been perfect for these sorts of theories. "The timing fits, and I'm sure Lyon would've shown his father first."

"Perhaps even his collapse is related to it?" Eirika hesitantly suggested. She brushed her hair behind her ear, eyes slightly unfocused as she thought. "I knew he was ill, and we learned from General Glen about his collapse…"

"He did collapse, though thankfully, it was private," Duessel confirmed. He winced, though, likely remembering the incident. "He had been discussing army matters with we Imperial Three. I caught him and carried him to his rooms while Glen got Prince Lyon and Selena got Father McGregor."

"How bad was it?" Innes asked. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Joshua, meanwhile, passed Myrrh a little bit of candy he apparently had in his pocket. Myrrh took it with a slight smile, and nibbled on it. "Not the collapse. The illness."

"Honestly, he was bad off. He knew it too." Duessel sighed and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes. "When I said good night and left Prince Lyon to sit vigil by his bed, it felt like goodbye. I honestly expected to wake up to hear he had died during the night. Yet, he didn't. Well, his body didn't. His mind… his heart… those disappeared."

If there was more discussion, I didn't hear it. A single thought wormed its way into my head and held my full and complete attention. It was preposterous. Ridiculous. Impossible. Except not really, because I had proof of something like it had happened. But still, it seemed too… I didn't even know. So, I looked around, wondering what the others were thinking. Ephraim and Eirika talked with Duessel, continuing the conversation. Innes was silent, frowning deeply about something, something that caught his attention. Joshua, however, was looking right at me, with a look of similar tentative horror. He definitely wondered the same thing I did. So I...

"What if he did die?" The words were out before I could stop them, so soft I could barely hear them. But the others did, and they all turned towards me. "We know… we know because of Monica that whoever our true enemy is, they can bring back the dead," I continued shakily. I tripped up on a few words, remembering Monica. Remembering 'killing' her. "I… I don't know about everyone else, but I've been thinking of her as the 'first'. The 'test'. The… whatever. But what if she wasn't?" Myrrh, the sweetheart, took my hand reassuringly, sensing how uncomfortable I was. "What if someone else had been 'first'?"

"You said Prince Lyon was alone by his father's bedside the entire night," Joshua added quickly. Almost too quickly. He was speaking as he thought and his mind was sprinting. "We know, through Orson and through Carlyle, that our enemy gains pawns through temptation. Is it a stretch to believe that someone might've tempted Prince Lyon? Because I know, _damn_ well, that if someone had come to me right after Mother died and offered to bring her back? Even knowing it was stupid, I'd take it." Joshua's voice cracked and his eyes misted over with tears. But he still continued, voice perfectly firm and quiet in their passion. "I'd take it to have even just one more hour with her. Hell, I'd be tempted to take it even now, and that's _after_ seeing what happened."

"A-and we know that Lyon blames himself for the war." I glanced at Eirika and she nodded. I paused, to see if she wanted to speak, but she then shook her head. She was in too much shock to form coherent words for now. I didn't blame her. "I think he specifically said that this war started because he was 'too weak' or something."

"I can see the 'too weak' part," Duessel murmured. He became very sad suddenly and looked down. "Prince Lyon often thought himself too weak for everything."

"He did?" Ephraim repeated, noticeably startled. He looked to Eirika, who shook her head. She had no idea what Duessel meant either. "I always thought… I mean…"

"I wouldn't say I was his complete confidant or anything. That was probably Knoll. Certainly, Knoll knew more about the dark magic and the research. But I have been a constant presence in his life, and so, he does tell me some things." Duessel sighed and drummed his fingers on his thigh. "Like how he was convinced he'd lead his people to ruin."

"He… what?"

"He compared himself to his father, and never saw his strengths. He compared himself to you, Prince Ephraim, and found himself short." Duessel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ephraim, however, looked like someone had punched him in the gut. Eirika looked like someone had dumped ice water on her. I thought it telling that she wasn't _as_ shocked as Ephraim, but still very shocked nonetheless. "I would try, but the answers were always the same. No matter what I tried, he had a counter. Always unsure, always so certain he was inadequate, especially compared to everyone else. If you combine it with the pain of losing his father so suddenly..."

An awkward silence fell on us then. No one knew quite how to react. No one knew what to say. So, the silence stretched on and on, until it run with all sorts of implications, each worse than the last.

"Perhaps we should disperse for now," Innes suggested in a surprising showing of tact. He still looked very contemplative, and I wondered if it was coincidence or not. "I want to get my spies on something, and I think we've discussed enough for now. Joshua, can you help me? Duessel, Seth wanted to speak to you after this."

Joshua murmured some sort of agreement, kissing my temple before leaving with Innes. Duessel patted Ephraim on the shoulder and followed them out. I stood there awkwardly, looking between Eirika and Ephraim, not sure of what to do. Not sure of who I tried, and probably failed, to comfort first. I had… no ideas. But Myrrh did. She really was a sweetheart.

"Eirika, do you mind walking with me?" Myrrh asked. She took Eirika's hand shyly and tugged to make sure she had Eirika's attention. "I want to talk to Saleh, but I am…"

"Oh, of course," Eirika reassured. Light came to her eyes again, seizing on the chance to _do_ something. "We can check the infirmary first." She looked up at me and then nodded pointedly at the still and silent Ephraim. Silently asking me to look after him. I nodded back, accepting that even as I felt horribly unsure. I wanted to help her too, but…

The two of them left, and I lingered, still uncertain. Still hesitant. Still far out of my depth. It didn't help that Ephraim was perfectly still and even more perfectly silent. I wasn't even sure he knew I was there, and I wondered if he needed to be alone. I wondered if I should ask. I didn't know what to do.

I winced when he left abruptly and I half-thought to just go to the infirmary with Eirika and Myrrh. But Eirika had asked, so I threw up my hands and followed him. I followed him through the halls of the house and out the door. I followed him down the street and past our very confused comrades. I followed him out of the town entirely and down to the beach, thankfully away from the bloody waters where our people were still fishing corpses out. When he got there, he stopped, still perfectly silent and still. After a moment, he sat down and remained perfectly silent. With me hovering awkwardly behind him because I didn't know what to do at all. Great job, me.

"Compared himself to me and came up short…" Ephraim whispered quietly, like he was thinking aloud. He continued staring out over the water. Based on the sun, I realized it this beach faced east, towards Grado Keep. Towards Lyon. "Not as skilled. Inadequate. Inferior. He thought those things of himself."

"Seems so," I replied, feeling like an idiot. Tired of standing, I sat down beside him, making sure to tuck my skirt under me. "It happens."

"But he's so much smarter than me. It's not even me finding books boring. He's just smart. But more than that, he's good at explaining and teaching. Makes it interesting again." He brought a knee into his chest and rested his arm on it. "Powerful. I mean; gods, if he had a heart for battle, and could safely spar with me using magic, he'd win. I know he would. He's that good." I stretched my legs out, and watched the water lap onto the shore, just out of reach. "And he's brave. Bravest person I know. My very smart, very kind, very brave friend."

"You told me that before."

"It's the truth. It's always been my truth." He fell silent again, and I watched the water sparkle in the sunlight. Late afternoon, but not quite evening. "It was never him being humble, was it? He hated himself. He genuinely hated himself. With part of it being that he compared himself to me and saw himself inferior. And I never noticed. I never noticed that he was deflecting any compliments… no, that his deflection wasn't him being shy. Him being humble. He truly didn't believe and I, the idiot, never..." He fell silent yet again. I didn't say anything. What else could I do? I didn't know what to do. "He hates himself."

"It's certainly a possibility, yes." Which had to be the stupidest thing to say.

"He hates himself. Hates himself to the point that he never notice how he far exceeded any expectations people had of him. I thought he was just being humble. I thought that's how he was and I love him for it. I adore him to death, my best friend. But I never properly… I never noticed and I just…" He began laughing, but it wasn't a friendly sound. Even calling it 'mirthless' or 'bitter' was an understatement. "It's like with Innes. I just went around, being good, avoiding the 'fights' I couldn't win and I hurt my friends. But Innes, at least, has enough confidence in himself to just be annoyed and serious. Lyon… he…"

"Ephraim…" I didn't know what to say. I really didn't.

"I want to find him as soon as possible. I want to give him a hug. I want to apologize and have a long talk with him." Ephraim's voice cracked and, to my surprise, he began to cry. "I want… ah…"

"You _need_ to not be the king for a short while." I hesitated another moment and then I gathered him up in my arms and let him cry into my chest. He curled into me instantly and I wondered if I needed to do this earlier. I was so bad at this. "It hurts. It hurts to realize you've been hurting people unintentionally. Doesn't make you a bad person. Just means you need to open your eyes a little bit more." This reminded me, a bit, of what Moulder once told me, way back when I first met him. For some reason. "So, you go ahead and cry. It's just me here. And when you see him again, you'll have a nice long talk, like you apparently had with Innes."

I held Ephraim even after he had cried himself out, letting him cling and doing my level best to comfort him, even though I knew I was bad at it. I caught sight of Forde and Kyle a couple of times, looking for him, but I caught their eye and shook my head, silently telling them to keep people away. I think it worked because no one bothered us, not even when I walked him back to his room. I gave him a goodnight kiss and left him to go to bed, though I did move slowly, just in case. When I got to my room, I found Eirika there, sitting on the bed with her knees tucked into her chest. Her expression told me she didn't want to talk, but she also didn't want to be alone, so I just got ready for bed and got us both under the covers before launching into the silliest and-or raunchiest tales I knew. It took a few to get her to smile and a couple more to get her to laugh, but it had the desired effect, thank everything.

I really didn't know what to do. This whole war might be more complicated than we ever thought. It might have all started because a son wanted his father back and a prince was so certain he would be bad at ruling that he was willing to do whatever it took to 'keep his people safe'. And that was just… sad.

* * *

 _Notes on Duessel:_

 _The 54-year-old Obsidian, one of the Imperial Three, the oldest and longest serving general in Grado. Right hand of Emperor Vigarde and highly trusted. Whenever Emperor Vigarde left to tour the country, Duessel was the one left in charge of both the capital, and of Prince Lyon._

 _A master of arms, with equal skill in swords, lances, and axes. He's not the fastest soldier, even when mounted, due to heavy armor and age catching up to him, but he maintains a great amount of strength and durability that he can easily hold his own alongside soldiers half his age. (Literally half; Seth is half his age unless a birthday has passed no one knows about)_

 _A very moral and honorable man, and thus, being a 'traitor' hurts him bitterly. However, his will to serve the greater good surpasses that, as does his hope that he can still save Prince Lyon from this… mess._

* * *

Author's note: So, the best way this game deconstructs the 'Ace' archetype with Ephraim? Literally have it play a part in why Lyon has such a poor opinion of himself, which leads to all the chaos. (With Innes, it's more implied, but it's shown that he takes his rivalry with Ephraim deathly serious, while Ephraim takes it more casually, not realizing what Innes feels at all.)

Now, in game, there's no thing with 'what if he died?' with Vigarde, mostly because the whole concept of necromancy isn't even imaginable to them. However, since this story puts the chapter _after_ the reveal with Monica, it just made sense for this to be considered. Also made it a good place to reveal Lyon's insecurities, which both Ephraim and Eirika are shown to have thought as endearing (instead of a sign of just how much Lyon despises himself). The darksphere appears in FE3/FE12 and plays a significant role in the plot there. Though Magvel is kept separate from the others, I did decide to bring in that nod because of the similarities.

Supports between Duessel and Knoll show that Duessel doesn't know _everything_ that happened, but I figured it made sense for Lyon to at least talk to Duessel about his fears of ruling. Duessel also joins with A ranks in Swords, Lances, and Axes and is honestly one of the stronger units in the game, thanks to his high strength and defense. He does have speed issues, with it being decent at best, but even with that, he can easily make it to the endgame should you desire. (He's also a fantastic candidate for Garm which helps that speed issue)

This chapter is also the map where you recruit Cormag on Ephraim's route (via Tana or Duessel, iirc). During dialogue, Cormag reveals that Duessel is like a father to both Selena and Glen (which I have added to Cormag because it makes sense and because Duessel mentions in supports that Cormag is like a son to him). Since we're doing this chapter a bit later in the timeline, it became a good point to have Cormag and Selena argue instead. Valter does appear in the chapter to lure Selena away, outright stating he's sabotaging the war effort to make sure it goes on longer as soon as he's alone. (Then, in game, he goes up to Carcino to kill Glen, but you know, already happened in this story) His 'offer' to Cormag is based off his boss dialogue with Cormag if you did Ephraim's route (since, in that route, Cormag doesn't learn of his brother's death until after recruitment).

Duessel's apology to his soldiers, and their reassurances, appears in game if none of the NPCs died. (You also get a free knight crest if you manage it.) Selena's backstory is revealed in Chapter 13 of Ephraim's route, but it makes sense (to me, at least) for Cormag to know of it too. Now, iirc, in game, you go directly to the next map (as in, no breaks and no chance of returning to the world map). But… we're taking a little break for everyone, and because I figured it would take a bit to get enough ships.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Bethroen


	32. Interlude - Bethroen

Interlude - Bethroen

* * *

 _Duessel has joined our cause. You can tell it shakes the people in the nearby towns, and no few of them wonder why Duessel, of all people, would turn traitor. Some whisper 'hostages'. Others murmur how Duessel always viewed Ephraim fondly. Others still wonder if this means Grado has fallen. It's hard to hear more, because all of them keep their distance. They don't like us. They don't trust us. They hate us. We are invading their home, but like Grado invaded Renais. They are confused and scared, much like the Renaisi people._

 _We do our best to ignore them, because otherwise, we might falter. We prepare the ships and ready ourselves for the next few battles. Things are only going to get worse from here._

* * *

While we waited for the ships to be prepared, all of us settled into random houses, all empty and staying that way until long after we were gone. We felt guilty taking up the places, since they were people's _homes_ , but there wasn't enough space here, really, to camp comfortably. We did our best to keep things clean, and not disturb the place too much. Luckily, the people had time to take most of their personal things. They left their pots and other cooking utensils, though, or at least, the people who owned the house I shared with Tana, L'arachel, and Eirika did. I used them to make Ephraim and Eirika fruit omelets.

"I am so glad I found a tray," I muttered, walking carefully down the hall of one of the larger houses, which Ephraim, Innes, Joshua, Natasha, Gerik, and Tethys all roomed in. Thankfully, it was also right next to the house I stayed in, so I wasn't having to wander every which way with the heavy tray with two plates, two sets of utensils, and two glasses of mint tea carefully balanced. "Which one was his office again?" It was late morning, meaning Ephraim was normally working alone while everyone else handled other important things. "Ah, right, it's this one." So, it was just my luck that today, of all days, Ephraim wasn't alone. He was meeting with Joshua and Innes. "Um…"

"Petal!" Joshua greeted brightly, standing from his chair by the desk. Innes scowled at me from his chair, likely because I hadn't even knocked on the door, and Ephraim stared at me blankly from behind his desk, unmoving. "Is it lunch already?"

"Ah, no…" I made myself smile, but I felt horribly awkward. "Not yet. Tethys, however, told me Ephraim didn't eat breakfast, and I know Eirika didn't, so I made…" Innes continued to scowl. Ephraim continued to stare. I wanted to go crawl into a hole. "I'm sorry. You all don't normally meet at this hour. I didn't…"

"We're here early, yeah." Thank everything for Joshua, though, as he gave me a reassuring kiss on my cheek and took the tray from me. "But nothing so important that we should forget to eat. Surprised Natasha didn't catch it."

"Natasha is apparently half-plotting to have him in the infirmary for how many meals he's missed." I set the fruit omelet I made on the corner of Ephraim's desk and carefully set the tea next to it, far away from any important paperwork. "R-regardless…" Still scowling. Still staring. I hadn't felt this unwelcome in… ever, actually. "I should… find Eirika."

"Of course, petal." Joshua gave me a hug, and leveled a stern look at Innes. Innes blinked a few time as if in surprise and looked away. "Mind if I steal you later this afternoon?"

"Of course not. I'll see you then." I glanced at Ephraim, who still just stared. Silently. So, I made myself smile and escaped as fast as possible, a mortified blush heating up my face. I had _hoped_ to spent the rest of the morning helping him or something after dropping off food with Eirika, anything to get a proper conversation, but clearly, that just wasn't supposed to happen.

In the week we had been staying here, Ephraim and I had talked a grand total of five times, all very short because it had been in between whatever work he was doing. It was barely more than I'd talked with Eirika. Of course, I only talked more with L'arachel because I helped out in the infirmary to spend time with Natasha, and with Tana because Tana insisted on evening flights with Cormag and Vanessa. Everyone was busy preparing and everything. I tried to help, where I could, but I felt like Ephraim and Eirika were avoiding me. Probably because I was bad at comforting and they… ah, I had no idea.

Still, I was on a mission, so I hunted for Eirika, eventually finding her on the beach, practicing her magic alone. Unlike Ephraim, she was alone and, also unlike Ephraim, she smiled when she saw me. Best friends were the best.

"You forgot to eat breakfast, again, so I made you something," I explained, handing her the entire tray. She dropped her tome, but I picked it up and dusted the sand off of it before sitting down next to her. "Should be light enough to not ruin your lunch."

"Is this a fruit omelet?" she asked, poking it a bit to confirm. She then smiled brightly and promptly took a huge bite. "Ah, so good~ I haven't had one since… I think since before all of this started."

"Such a tragedy." I almost sighed in relief that she thought it was good. "So, what has you out here?"

"Well, I had hoped the sounds of the waves would help me focus. But…" She looked at the tome in my lap and sighed. "I keep thinking about Lyon." She poked at her food a bit, moving a strawberry around. "I knew."

"Pardon?"

"I knew he thought himself a weakling. I knew he thought himself an unworthy successor, and that everyone wanted someone else to be the heir. He was self-conscious about how frail he was, and how he preferred spending his days in the library, studying. But I…" She played with her food more, staring out into nothing. "I thought my words had an effect. I thought he… I don't know. I didn't think it was so bad. I didn't think his father's health was bad."

"Sounds like we had a lot of poor communication."

"More like the worst. And all because I didn't understand. I couldn't imagine why he'd hate himself so much. To me, he was always the smartest and kindest person in all of Magvel. He worked tirelessly to help his people, but now that drive…" She sipped the tea, probably just to have something to do. "Ephraim warned him about it, once. 'What good is helping people if you sacrifice yourself to it?' I think he said. We then spent the whole day in the city, because we knew he hadn't taken any time for himself."

"So, a bit how you all are working yourselves ragged?"

"Er… well…" She coughed and looked to the side. I tried to not smirk. "It's a little different now."

"Because it's you?" This time I did smirk and she sulked a little. "Sorry, sorry. You keep going."

"Hmph…" She sulked a little more before sighing, not wanting to pretend to be annoyed anymore. "But the worst part of all of this is that… well, it's not the _worst_ part by any means. The worst part is that I never noticed, and I need to hug him and apologize. But still…" She paused, trying to piece together her thoughts. "I worry how the people will see him, once all of this is over. He devoted everything to them, but they might only remember him for…"

"...You know what they say about history, right?" I nudged her and smiled reassuringly. "It's written by the winners? Well, when all of this is over, _we're_ going to be the winners, right? That's the goal?"

"Well, ideally, yes?"

"So, logically, that means _we_ get to write the story."

"Didn't you once tell me that you hated lying?"

"One, apparently all bets are off if I need to protect someone, as I have discovered frequently in this war." I poked her cheek and laughed when she made a face. "Two, who says it has to be a lie? I mean; who won't understand wanting to bring back a dead parent? If it's the necromancy like we're theorizing, all we had to do is spin the story to emphasize how our true enemy took advantage of Lyon's grief. If it's the corrupting thing, then we spin the story a different way, maybe a focus on trying to 'save' his father."

"...Right, nothing says we have to reveal the _whole_ truth, huh?" Eirika began giggling and started eating again. "We can simply reveal parts."

"Precisely. And there's nothing that says we have to emphasize everything." Gossip was always a good way to shape someone's perception. I knew that, from how I viewed Eirika and Ephraim way before all of this. "Is the food good?"

"Of course." She hummed a bit in delight. "Ah, but now I am curious. Why make this for me? There are other light Renasi dishes."

"Whenever Monica, Orson, or I needed a pick-me-up meal, we'd go with fruit omelets because we associated the dish with 'warmth' and 'family', thanks to my parents." I smiled a little ruefully as a thought occurred to me, way too late. "I thought you might need something like that, and that's my default. I probably should've asked what you actually associate with the things, though."

"...No, I love it." She smiled back sweetly and took a big bite for emphasis. "This is perfect. Thank you."

"Okay." I wasn't sure if this was really helpful or anything. But hey, if a fruit omelet and a conversation about the future cheered her up, I could at least do that. That was good, yes?

* * *

"Ah, so that's all what happened," L'arachel murmured. After Eirika finished eating, I'd left her to her practice to drop off the dishes and maybe clean a little. L'arachel, however, snagged me to help her collect herbs, and to get some clarification on the meeting we all had with Duessel. "Thank you so much. I've been trying to get answers, but only Joshua ever stayed still long enough for me to ask! And I really wanted more than one person's account."

"Yeah, everyone has been busy," I sighed, crouching down to pick another herb. I hoped it was one, at least. Plants tended to look the same to me, though L'arachel had assigned me the most easily identifiable ones. "Or are shy."

"Poor Myrrh. I accidentally gave her quite the fright, though I have no idea how." She sighed mournfully, and I bit my tongue to keep from pointing out that it was probably her bombastic air. "So, a corruptive influence or necromancy…"

"Those are the current theories for all this mess." Both seemed to fit. Corruption… well, that was obvious. And while Monica's smile and voice had been the same, her reanimated corpse hadn't 'acted' right. It had just called two names and smiled. "I can't believe only Joshua thought you might need to know."

"I know, right? Hmph, I should give them a right scolding!" She gestured grandly with some herbs, like they were her staff, before putting them in her basket. "Though, I suppose to be fair, they could've just thought someone else told me."

"They still could've asked to make sure." Apparently, that was how Joshua had learned L'arachel _didn't_ have all the information from that meeting. "Is this the right one?"

"Yes, it is." She skipped down the path, and I followed her, amazed she didn't trip on any roots or anything. I'd stubbed my toe at least five times since we entered the woods, and that hadn't been all that long ago. "However, that Dark Stone concerns me, especially if it is corruptive. Saint-Queen Latona warned of how the Demon King could tempt and twist a person." She paused to pick a few more herbs from the ground. "But I can't help but wonder if that 'Dark Stone' is the Demon King's soul."

"You think it's what?"

"You know the story, yes? Grado's Sacred Stone is often dubbed the Fire Emblem because of how it houses the Demon King's soul and it flickers like a dark flame." She stood up again and attempted to climb a tree. I stopped her and climbed up myself. "The light blue berries and their leaves, please."

"These ones?" I asked as soon as I was settled. When she nodded, I began carefully plucking them and setting them in my basket. "And yes, I know the story."

"Well, by this point, it's safe to assume that Grado's Sacred Stone is destroyed. But where would the soul go? Back to the body? If that was the case, then surely Myrrh would be sensing darkness from the Darkling Woods, and Rausten would've been the first country to fall, not Renais."

"That's… a good point, actually." I glanced down at her. "Need more of the berries?"

"No, that should suffice."

"Okay." I climbed down carefully, tucking my basket against my side to make sure nothing spilled out. "But yeah, that's a good point. Where _would_ the soul be? Floating around? That doesn't seem too terrifying."

"You truly are brave, Emma. The thought of the Demon King's ghost hanging over my shoulder shakes me." She shuddered, and I grimaced. I hadn't thought about it like that, and now I wasn't sure how to say that. "My guess, in that case, would be that it is inside something. The stories go that the Demon King evaded death by possessing a human host. Saint-Queen Latona was the last one, and the only one saved."

"But since it was in a stone before, it's not implausible that it would jump to another, one that doesn't have the…" I groped for words, unable to figure out what I wanted to say.

"The divine light that holds back evil." L'arachel nodded and I decided to just go with it. "Yes, exactly. If that was the case, then the Demon King's soul would be able to exert its evil without a single obstacle…"

"That's one way to think on it." I, however, found myself wondering how a soul could cause harm at all. But then again, demon. It didn't have to play by human rules. "So, that Dark Stone could really be… but in that case, why would Lyon be holding onto it?"

"He is a master of the dark arts. Perhaps he tries to seal it?"

"Perhaps." But that question loomed in my head. Why not destroy it? Was it to prevent the soul from inhabiting a body? Of course, that was assuming we were even correct and the soul could be in a human already. That thought made me think of that general Amelia mentioned. Riev, who we knew next to nothing about except that he had appeared shortly after and… "L'arachel?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know the name 'Riev'?"

"Riev?" She frowned heavily. "I know of _a_ Riev, yes. It's the name of a heretic who my uncle excommunicated twenty or twenty-five years go." That time frame again… what all happened? I should ask Garcia, but he'd taken to avoiding me since that talk in Ivroria. "He was found guilty of worshiping the Demon King." And, again, ties to the Demon King came up… "Why?"

"Apparently, it's the name of the one Grado General we haven't had any contact with." And I was becoming more and more convinced he at least played a part in all of this. If he'd been a follower, then he could've consented to being used as a host. If that's how this all worked, I mean. Gods, this was insane. "Uses light magic. Been here since the start of the war."

"If he is the same one, then I can believe he is thoroughly involved." Her eyes flashed in a surprising amount of anger. "I never met him, but I read through the records of his trial. He was fanatical, a madman. Light magic is the magic of faith and belief, and he drew the power from his worship of the Demon King."

"Why wasn't he just killed?"

"Saint-Queen Latona worried that 'heresy' would become a catchall for 'killing anyone who disagrees'." She sighed and reached up to fix her hair, her basket sliding to the crook of her elbow. "And no matter how deeply the investigation went, no one could definitively prove anything beyond 'heresy' on him. His _fellows_ were executed for murder, torture, and all manner of vile things, but no one could prove that he had anything to do with it."

"That sounds like someone who can cover his tracks."

"It does. But sadly, we are not above the law." She smiled bitterly. "I wonder if he is our necromancer, who tempted poor Lyon."

"Could be." Or the Demon King's vessel. "You know; for some reason, I expected you to be a little more indignant at the necromancy thing. I'm not sure why."

"Well, it's not righteous and it spites the gods, so I certainly dislike it." She huffed and I tried to think if she used that word correctly because _that_ was clearly important. "But with that said, I believe I told you, once, that I longed to meet my parents. If someone offered me that chance, I might take it, even if it isn't righteous."

"I think few would be able to resist." I remembered considering it, once, right after that first fight with the monsters. I'd cursed myself for the idiocy, but if I hadn't seen the revenants… "Very few."

"Yes, so I cannot help but feel saddened. He was overwhelmed with grief and someone took advantage. I have far more anger towards our necromancer." She sighed and suddenly clapped her hands. "Oh, we have been serious for much too long. There are still herbs and I intend on keeping a good mood."

"That sounds good." Especially since all we had was speculation, and that was all we would have until we made it to the capital, and Lyon. "Neimi told me a funny story the other day, actually."

"Excellent!" She giggled and shifted her basket to her other arm so that she could hook her now-free one around mine. "Let's be off!"

* * *

Despite the funny stories, and fun teasing, the question of 'why didn't Pontifex Mansel just kill Riev?' reminded me of a question I'd had for quite a long while. So, after dropping off the herbs at the infirmary, and giving Natasha a hug and a kiss on the cheek, I went to find Duessel. Because if anyone could answer the question, it would be him.

It took a couple of tries, but I eventually found him drilling the soldiers, using Cormag as his practice 'dummy', and ordering them to repeat the motions some number of times I was sure Seth would be proud of. He paid particular attention to Amelia, and I had to smile at that. I remembered she looked up to him and now she was learning from him. She was practically glowing with eagerness, and I thought Duessel picked up on that. Certainly, at least, his mood was the happiest I'd ever seen But eventually, Duessel called for everyone to stop and cool down, and then he told Cormag that he was in charge of making sure no one shirked. I almost wondered why, but he turned to walk towards me and then it became obvious. He'd seen me waiting.

"How may I help you, Lady Emma?" Duessel asked. I tried to not wince at the title. Still hated it. Gods, it was going to take a while to get used to that. "Did you wish to join?"

"No, I've lessons with Seth later and I'm not suffering through _both_ of you," I retorted with a little smile. He simply laughed in return. "I did, however, have a serious question and realized you might actually have the answer to that."

"Is that so?" He crossed his arms and regarded me curiously. "What is it, then?"

"Why was Valter not executed? His crimes were known even in Renais."

"Ah." Duessel fell silent, studying me closely. I simply stared back, since I wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Come with me."

"Okay?" Confused, I followed him, wondering what the hell was going on. I became even more confused when we went to the house he shared with Seth, Forde, Kyle, and Franz. "Is it that secretive?"

"The answer to your question is a little complex." He ducked into what I guessed was his room, based on the sparse decorations and the bed, and went to something in the corner, covered by some sort of tarp. He hesitated a moment, but before I could ask, he pulled off the tarp to reveal a lance. A beautifully made lance, if I had to be truthful, but there was a strange glimmer to it. A malevolence. "Well?"

"The hell… is that?" I almost took a step back, except the idea of being afraid of an inanimate object seemed idiotic. But even with that, I made sure to keep my distance, even as I walked around to study it. "It's…" It made me feel uneasy and nauseous, like I was near Valter again, but underneath, there was that bone-deep unsettled feeling I had felt when I met Lyon. "What sort of twisted person owns a lance like this?"

"Me."

"Oh, uh…" I paused, feeling awkward. Me and my big mouth. "This is a family heirloom, isn't it?"

"It is, but ah…" He softened slightly, apparently amused. "The dread is good instincts. It's cursed."

"Oh, that's freaking great." I scowled and he actually chuckled. "Well, if you're done freaking me out with weapons, which congratulations, by the way, because I didn't think a weapon could freak me out anymore…"

"It's enough to fill me with dread, and I am much older." He carefully folded up the tarp and draped it over his arm. "They say this lance was first wielded by Queen Evelyn, actually, a weapon she won from a gargoyle before she joined the war alongside her brother. However, she set it to the side after a few battles, thinking something was off about it. Since it was a time where no weapon was left unused for long, King Grado's childhood friend, Tobias, took ownership."

"Wait, it's from the Demon King?" I eyed it warily. I wasn't sure why I was suddenly getting a history lesson, but I'd assume there was reason to this. Somewhere. "That seems smart."

"Well, most of the weapons they took were fine. After all, many were simply theirs, used by their own dead." That was a lovely mental image. I definitely needed it for my nightmares. "But using the weapon slowly took it's toll of Tobias. He became aggressive, irritated, suicidal. His darkest thoughts dragged to the forefront."

"Wait, that sounds like what Myrrh theorized for the Dark Stone…" It reminded me of the dark look he'd had, briefly, when talking about it and curses. "So this is…?"

"A lance cursed by the Demon King." Did the Demon King send it out as a taunt, then? The stories always mentioned how clever and tactical he was. "Eventually, it killed Tobias. There's conflicting stories on how he died, but that fact remains true no matter what. Afterwards, the Heroes tried to destroy it."

"Clearly didn't do a good job." I stepped to the side to look at it from a different angle and grimaced. I now knew what that glimmer reminded me of: the glint in Valter's eyes when he sighted 'prey'. "Was there no time?"

"Ha… if it were that simple, it would've been destroyed _after_ the battle." Duessel smiled bitterly. "No heat could melt it. No force could crack it. Things that made it appealing as a weapon, but became deterrents when they tried to destroy it."

"Let me guess. It remained sharp no matter how many times it killed something."

"It did." He laughed at my wince. That had been sarcastic. "So, they went with the obvious route. They didn't want to leave it behind. Someone else could take it. So, they threw it into the water."

"And then someone dove for it?"

"...No." Duessel shook his head. "No, it simply appeared again in the armory. No matter how many times they threw it away, locked it up, whatever… it always came back." He closed his eyes in thought, and I tried to think of some word for what I felt besides 'complete and utter horror'. A cursed weapon that followed you everywhere? Seriously? _Seriously?_ "I believe they even once flew out over the ocean, far enough that they couldn't see the shore, and then threw it as hard as they could further away."

"And it still came back?"

"By the morning, it was there, dripping wet like it had just been pulled from the water. They gave up after that and simply made sure no one ever wielded it." He began to unfold the tarp again. "After the war ended, King Grado asked my house to guard it and thus, it has been inherited by the head of the house ever since. As has the charge to keep it safe and to never use it, unless there is a time where madness rules the lands."

"So, about where we are now?"

"We're not quite there yet. But we're closer than I like." He covered the lance up again. I wasn't sure I wanted to ask what would tip him over the edge. "Now, to actually answer your question." I already knew I wasn't going to like this. "Valter was never a quiet lamb, by any means. He was always harsh, always loved a good fight. He and Glen never got along. But once, Valter was a man who held up the tenants of knighthood. Once, he was someone who guarded the people, and took pride in it."

"I'm having difficulties imagining that."

"I don't blame you." He chuckled, but it sounded sad. "A few years ago, or maybe it was longer… however long ago it was, we were sent out to deal with a rebellion, one that threatened to starve our people. Valter went ahead, determined to strike the first blow and open their guard for Glen and myself. He and Glen argued over the strategy, but Valter was always stubborn."

"Something tells me things went wrong?"

"There were more than our scouts reported. It was a bloody, grueling battle where you could barely pay attention to what was around you." Duessel sadly rested a hand on the covered lance. "During that battle, Valter's lance broke. He should've fallen back, but he refused. He was a knight, determined to protect the people, and he was in the best fight of his life, for his life. But he didn't have his spare; he had given it to Glen earlier."

"...But he knew you carried one."

"I carry two lances with me always. One is a treasure, too bright and beautiful to dull with blood. Then there is this one, which I guard. But not that day. That day, I was careless."

"Because you couldn't keep an eye on anything but making sure your guts didn't end up on the ground."

"Yes and, worse, I had been knocked off my horse by a particularly strong blow. I've a scar from it." He took his hand off the lance to place it on the left side of his ribs, right under the heart and lungs. "Disoriented and oblivious, I didn't pay attention, and Valter took the cursed lance."

"Why didn't he take the other one?"

"He knew how much I liked that one and didn't want it to be used. But he didn't know the story about the cursed lance. I never told him." Duessel closed his eyes, lost in his memories. "He changed. Unknowing of the force the lance held, unable to brace himself, it brought out all of his worst aspects in an instance. He killed all of the enemies, even the retreating men. If Evaicrag hadn't pinned him down, I have no doubts he would've killed all of us. I wrestled the lance from him as soon as I could, but it was too late."

"So that's how he ended up..." General Glen had mentioned something like this before. I wondered if he knew the real reason, or if he thought… well, I supposed it didn't matter. "That's why he's like how he is."

"From then on, he hungered for blood and battle. Everything became about the thrill of the hunt, the chase, the violence. And it turned on civilians, and prisoners." He opened his eyes again and looked at me. "Since it was caused by my carelessness, I begged Emperor Vigarde to simply imprison him, to see if we could find a way to reverse the damage. If not for Valter's sake, then for the next poor soul who ended up like that. Emperor Vigarde agreed to my request and there has, apparently, been some progress with help from Rausten, but..."

"And now Valter is slaughtering civilians like a rabid beast and-" I bit my tongue just in time to keep from saying the last bit. There was no need to bring up that Valter had killed General Glen, who Duessel viewed as a son. That would just be… "Well, will there be any qualms in gutting him like a fish?"

"None whatsoever. If fact, I think I'll enjoy the show." He smiled bitterly. I wondered how much he regretted everything involving Valter. "But that is your answer. A foolish old man's wish to see if someone could be cured of madness. And now, my emperor uses that against us all."

"...I'm sorry." I wasn't sure what to say. I couldn't lie and say it wasn't his fault. I couldn't reassure him and say that he did the 'right thing'. I had no idea what to do. I really was the worst at comforting.

"I am too." He sighed and rolled his shoulders. "This is enough dark talk, though. Would you like to hear how King Ephraim and Princess Eirika conspired with Prince Lyon to sneak a bunch of stray cats inside the castle?"

"Yes, please." I was always up for happy stories, particularly ones I could tease my boyfriend and best friend over. "Here, I'll make some tea for us. I've time before my lessons and helping Joshua."

"That sounds marvelous." He finally smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

"So, I accidentally told Ephraim about what the fruit omelets mean to you," Joshua said randomly while I helped him organized his reports. I actually had to pause in sorting them by relative urgency to process the words. "I thought he already knew."

"I really don't make them often enough," I mumbled, returning to work. I still felt awkward about this morning. "But it's fine. I was going to tell him, but…"

"Innes insisted on meeting early." Joshua grimaced and leaned his head back to stretch his neck. I didn't blame him; he'd been at his desk here for a good few hours at this point. "And, to be fair, it was a fairly serious thing. We've a few culture clashes that could blow up into full out fighting."

"How are the Jehannans and Raustenians?"

"Professional. So, thankfully better than it could be, not far from what I hoped, worse than the ideal." He sighed. "So long as it doesn't get worse, though, we'll be fine."

"I see." I went back to organizing, though I did have to pause on why 'fifteen kegs of ale' was mentioned as 'very important'. "Why wasn't L'arachel in the meeting, though?"

"She came after you left, actually. She ran a bit late because it wasn't the norm to meet that early, and she had tasks in the infirmary." He took the report I was frowning over and laughed brightly at it. I decided that the report was a good one, if only for that reason. "You could've stayed though. Or come back after dropping off Eirika's food."

"I think Innes's scowl implied the opposite." Not to mention Ephraim-

"And, you know, Ephraim staring like an idiot instead of actually saying something." He grinned at my scowl. Even though I adored him, it just _irritated_ me to be so easily read. I probably needed to get over that, but still…! "To be perfectly fair to him, and I insist on it in this case, you surprised him. And he got very distracted by how pretty you are."

"Really now?" I made my voice perfectly dry. "And how did you figure this out?"

"Because I scolded both of them and Ephraim blurted it out." He snickered and I had to bite back a smile. "He's so delightfully awkward with you. It's fantastic. Forget telling silly stories to the soldiers. Just have them watch him with you."

"You've mentioned that a couple of times."

"I think it's important." Joshua leaned back in his chair and returned his attention to his reports. I went back to organizing the rest. "A ruler needs to be able to see the bigger picture, of course. They need to make the hard calls. They have to balance the needs of all their people. But, in my opinion, none of that means you should _isolate_ yourself. There's over a million things I never would've learned if I had stayed in the castle, and that distance makes it hard for the people to actually give a damn about you. Or, worse, they near-worship you, and when you make a mistake, they're unforgiving." He glanced back up at me with a warm smile. "But if they know you, then they're more forgiving. If they know you, then they're more likely to listen."

"So, telling silly stories, letting them see you as awkward, helps?"

"I think so. It lets them see that there is more to a ruler than a king or warrior. I'm sure there's a lot of soldiers here who can identify with, say, a young man trying to impress the girl he loves and failing." He chuckled and I had to smile. "It also makes it easier to get a feel for the people. What are they feeling, what do they need. Things like that."

"What if it makes them think you're too silly to follow?"

"I win them back. I might have been born a royal, but I was born a person as well. I think the best way to walk the path of a king is to balance both." He laughed again and switched to a different report. "Seth disagrees with me, by the way. He thinks getting close will make it harder for a leader to do their job, harder to give the order that will cost lives on both side. That the emotion will cloud proper judgment. And there's a merit to the argument."

"But you disagree."

"I do. But that doesn't mean he's wrong. Doesn't mean I'm right. Just two separate beliefs." He shrugged and then frowned. "Wait, how did we get on this conversation?"

"I'm not sure, brother, but I know it's your fault."

"Hey!" He playfully scowled and I giggled. "Ah, now I remember. I mentioned you could stay and we got very distracted." He looked up at me. "That said, you've been a bit off lately, petal. You okay?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm just…" I paused, trying to think of what to say. "Both Ephraim and Eirika are taking the news about Lyon hard and I don't know how to comfort people." I smiled sadly at him, and he looked back at me seriously. "I thought I did, but I'm clearly bad at it. Given Orson and all…"

He was silent for a long while before he set the papers down and stood up to tug me into a hug. "Strange, because the reason I asked was because I think you're wonderful at it and that it would be good for Ephraim." He kissed the top of my head and I closed my eyes and leaned into him. "You've been a great comfort to me, at least, by being near, listening and helping. With that fruit omelet that reminded me that I still had family, family who worried about me."

"Really?"

"Yes." He hugged me a little tighter. "Sometimes, petal, comfort is simply reminding people that you're there for them and that they're not alone in the world."

I didn't say anything, just continued leaning into him. After all, I wasn't so certain, considering how badly Orson had ended up. But there was his last words. He had just wanted us to 'be happy' again. He had wanted to go back to when Monica and I were both smiling. He had wanted us to have 'all the happiness in the world'. So, maybe… maybe that was it. I still had him. He still had me. But in our grief, we forgot that. Or maybe he forgot that, and I never noticed, because I was so used to _getting_ comfort. I didn't properly _give_ it, or realize I hadn't given it, and Orson was so focused on being the strong pillar for me that he forgot, or never realized, that I could do the same.

After a moment, I did pull away and smile. When I moved to go back to work, though, Joshua took my hand. "I think I'm in need of a break, actually," he murmured. "Probably have drinks with Gerik and whoever else he gets together. You?"

"...I think I'll come along," I answered after a moment of thinking. It certainly sounded fun. "If that's okay."

"Always, petal." He hugged me again, but this time, I hugged him back. "Always.

* * *

At some point during the impromptu 'party', or whatever you called social drinking with not-actually-a-lot-of alcohol, Myrrh of all people poked her head into the house the Jehannan mercenaries had set up as their 'main' base. After being cooed at by Tethys, and some concerned questions from Marisa and Gerik, Myrrh mumbled that she wanted to go to the beach, but was told she had to have someone with her. Saleh was going through that journal with Eirika, Ephraim was busy, and Dozla (who Myrrh was apparently also friends with) was on patrol, so she had hoped to find me. I agreed without a second thought, more to help her escape the chaos that was a mercenary get-together. She kept flinching at all the sounds, poor dear.

"Thank you for coming with me," Myrrh whispered as we walked about the sands. She smiled as she kicked up some sand, possibly remembering something. "It has been a long time since I have been to the beach."

"It's a nice place to walk," I replied, making sure to smile. I did want her to be comfortable around me, especially since our paths seemed to cross a lot. "Brynhildr and Genarog like the water too."

"It's fascinating. There's an entire world beneath the surface, or so I was always told." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "There are mermaids and sirens under the water, you know."

"Are there?" I had know idea what either of those were.

"Yes, Saleh told me about them." She nodded sagely and I wondered how a mountain man would know anything about the ocean. Then again, books. "Mermaids have the upper half of a human, but the lower half of a fish. Some are mean and cause floods and shipwrecks, while others are kind and bestow blessings onto humans."

"And sirens?"

"They have the body, head, and arms of humans, but their legs are scaled and end in talons, much like a birds. They have haunting voices that can lure a sailor to their death or warn them away from dangerous waters." She squeaked as she nearly fell into a hole, but I caught her. "Thank you."

"No problem." I did, however, eye her shoes warily as we went right back to walking. They looked rather flimsy. "You should get sturdier shoes."

"I like this ones." She sounded almost petulant. Almost. "Well, I don't really… like shoes. In the Woods, I'd never wear any. But Father insisted when I left to investigate."

"I see." Well, if it became a problem, Saleh would be a far better person to convince her. "So, mermaids and sirens."

"Yes, they're wonderful. I would love to see one, one day."

"They do sound fascinating." But I did notice the whole 'neither human nor monster' thing and wondered if Saleh made them up to comfort her. She had seemed awkward about it when she told Cormag and me. Then again, she could've been awkward just because she'd been talking to strangers. "Where did Saleh learn about them?"

"Either his books or his travels. Though he's mostly just stayed in Carcino and Jehanna." That made me think it was more likely he made them up. "He's happiest when studying a good book, though."

"Like how he's going through that journal with Eirika?" A thought occurred to me and I crouched a bit to look at her. "Why don't you help?"

"Oh, Saleh likes Eirika, so I'm giving them time together." That… that was absolutely hilarious, actually. "He won't say so, but I can tell."

"Oh, I'm glad. She likes him, you see." I mimed for quiet and winked. "But no telling!"

"Right, humans have to tell each other." Myrrh actually giggled, though she still smiled shyly. "I knew about all the crushes in the camp, back during the war with the Fomortiis. Mostly because I would see and sense the feelings and then I'd ask. I didn't know better. I was only 400."

"Of course." I bit my tongue to keep myself from pointing out that was _easily_ four or five times my expected lifespan. More depending on how this war went. But, based on how she looked, I also just guessed that '400' for manaketes was like '4' for humans. "Which couples did you know about ahead of time?"

"Oh, I shouldn't tell!" Despite the words, a small light of mischief crept into her eyes. "Though, there was a couple like you and Ephraim."

"Was there now?" I hummed a bit in thought, curious if I could guess. "Was it Urien and Evelyn?"

"Nope!" She actually laughed. It was a quiet sound, but surprisingly cheerful. "You won't guess it correctly, I think."

"That almost sounds like a challenge." However, it was also one I knew I'd fail. I knew very little about the Heroes. Honestly, most of the stories didn't even use their names. "But perhaps I'll ask something different."

"Such as?"

"Were there any awkward moments? Like unrequited love?" I winced at how quickly her mood dropped. "I take it that's a yes."

"Yes, those were painful, but one in particular…" Myrrh grew hesitant again, curling into herself. "Latona liked Kasimir, you see. But he didn't like her in that way. He had eyes for someone else and didn't notice her feelings for him." She winced, remembering. "It was painful to watch, especially because he would come to her for advice."

"That had to be awkward."

"She tried to hide it, but I heard how her heart keened." She clasped her hands to her chest, like how you cradled an aching limb. "She wanted him to be happy, but she also longed for him to be with her. At the same time, her horrendous self-worth convinced her he never would be happy with her, so she didn't even try…"

"The stories say Latona was…"

"Yes, and I know that played a heart was hurting, cracked, and Fomortiis snuck inside and widened the cracks until it shattered and he could take control." She smiled sadly. "She was hurting over a lot of things, but she was also the healer. She hid everything behind her healer's mask because she wanted to be the reliable one. She was with people who stayed with her, even though there were rumors that she was cursed because she always survived, and she was scared they'd leave her if she was anything but helpful."

"She was insecure about her place in the world, her place with her friends…" It actually reminded me a bit of Lyon's situation, somehow. "Then you had the stress of being a healer during a war…"

"And not letting herself rest. She was always working. _Then_ you had the more 'normal' heartbreak." Myrrh kicked at the water, splashing. "I'm not sure Kasimir ever forgave himself for the mess, even long after she fell in love with her eventual husband and was happily married."

"Did they remain friends?"

"Oh, all of them did. That's why Kasimir never forgave himself. But she found her happy ending. All of them did." She smiled shyly. "I hope everyone here does too."

"That's what we're fighting for." A happy ending seemed a little too far off. But a 'happier' one? Maybe not so much. "You want to walk a little deeper into the water?"

"Can we?"

"Yeah, just not too far." I offered her my hand and she took it with a smile. "Come on."

* * *

That night, I had nightmares, as per usual. Killing an enemy, only for them to come back. Killing Monica again. My friends falling beside me and rising up again to try and kill me. Me killing them. Them ripping me apart. The usual ones. Though, this night, a new one showed up: accidentally picking up that cursed lance of Duessel's and turning into a monster like Valter. Trapping Brynhildr to my madness as Evaicrag was trapped with Valter. Slaughtering everyone and everything, uncaring of anything but the protection of a precious few people. Locking up my loved ones so that they'd always be _safe_.

It all made me sick, truthfully. It felt like a warning, one I didn't want because I wasn't tempted by the stupid lance anyway. It creeped me out. I hoped to never see it again. So, instead of doing my normal thing of 'just lie in bed and stare into nothing while I waited for my mind to pass out again because I wanted to avoid accidentally hurting someone while being too high strung', I went flying on Brynhildr. After all, somewhere in my half-asleep haze, that made perfect sense.

"I probably should've left a note or something," I murmured, flying over the water with Brynhildr. She growled in response. "I know it's late, sweetie, but it's not so late that no one will be awake." In fact, as I was leaving, I saw candlelight in Eirika's study, as well as L'arachel's. What was the phrase? Burning the midnight candles? "Ah, well. Hindsight."

Brynhildr growled again in response and dropped down to the water. She angled herself so that her wing tip skimmed the water, tracing a trail. I laughed and leaned down to do the same, after making sure I was buckled in still. I didn't fancy taking a swim in the ocean, no matter how nice the water felt. I'd gotten enough of a swim after jumping off Brynhildr and I was sure that after a day or so on the ship, I'd be sick of the water.

"I hope you won't get too cramped." The main issue had been finding ships that would carry all of the mounts. Merchant ships rarely needed so many stalls, among other things. "Well, we'll fly as much as we can. Surely there's little islands or something we can rest on." I remembered something and twisted so that I could look at her, and still run my hand through the water. "You cannot bring bunches of meat, though." Brynhildr crooned and tried to act innocent. "I mean it. The ships won't be able to hold it. We've got very limited space." After a moment, she grumpily growled a reluctant agreement. "Thank you."

She growled a little more before doing a sharp turn to make me yelp. Then she flipped around and skimmed the waves again. I rolled my eyes and focused on enjoying the scenery. However, at some point, I noticed that there was a figure standing on the beach, just seeming to watch me. After a moment, I realized it was Ephraim and urged Brynhildr to head back to shore. She went reluctantly, arcing and zigzagging to draw it out, but eventually, she landed on the sands with a quiet 'thump' and I unbuckled myself and dismounted.

"Is something wrong?" I asked as soon as my feet hit the sand. Then I yelped because the sand had actually been deeper than expected and I nearly fell. Looking back, I wondered if it was the same hole Myrrh tripped over. "That could've been more graceful."

"You said it, not me," Ephraim retorted with a very slight smile. It grew when I rolled my eyes. "Isn't it a little late for a flight?"

"I would argue it's a little late to be awake, but here we are." I shrugged and scratched Brynhildr above her eye ridge to apologize for the shortened flight. "Anyway, I thought you'd be working."

"Joshua locked my study. And hid the key." Ephraim sighed and I bit back a laugh. "Watch. He's going to forget where it is in the morning."

"He'll pretend to forget. There's a difference." I couldn't help but smile, though. It was just like Joshua. "Besides, it could've been at Natasha's request. She's been Very Worried. With the capitalization."

"That's the stuff of nightmares, that."

"Isn't it?" I giggled, though the cheer did fade when he didn't laugh along. "So, you were locked out of your study. What brought you outside, then?"

"I thought I'd walk around a bit, and I saw you two flying. Looked like the beach would be a better view."

"You wanted to see her fly that badly?" I frowned a bit before shrugging. "Well, I suppose it shouldn't surprise me. You've thought her amazing from the start."

"Hmm? Ah, well, yes, though…" Ephraim colored and looked away in embarrassment. "If you're referring to that first flight, and my mentioning being distracted, you're the one I was actually distracted by." Brynhildr happy-growled in response, strangely, but it was good because it helped distract me from my own blush. "Is… is she laughing at me?"

"She might, actually." I looked up at her curiously, desperately ignoring how much my face was burning. After a moment, though, a thought occurred to me. "Wait a moment. Brynhildr, have you been grumpy at him because he likes me?" Brynhildr crooned, but shook her head. "For not _saying_ he likes me?" This time, it was just a croon. "You got annoyed he was dancing around…?" I laughed, unable to help it, especially when she nodded. "That is…!"

"I'm being mocked by a wyvern. Glory be to me." Ephraim's sarcasm just made me laugh harder. "Besides, what did she expect? Me just to walk up to a girl that hated me-"

"Was _unimpressed_ with you. And a little angry."

"Whichever. Still." However, he finally smiled, a real and full smile, and that made me happy. "I… uh… should apologize for this morning, though. While I'm thinking about it. You startled me."

"Joshua already explained."

"He also explained what the dish meant to you." He took my hands and absently traced my palm. "It was really good, by the way. I haven't had a fruit omelet since long before all this started. Made me think of home, and better days."

"Well, if it cheered you up a little, then I'd call it a success." I frowned at him, though, because it might've been the moonlight, but he looked awful. "When did you last sleep?"

"Last night." He looked away again when I continued to stare, this time from sheepishness. "At my desk because I happened to nod off."

"Honestly…" I sighed and, impulsively, sat down, dragging him with me. "Here." I nudged him until he was lying down, his head in my lap. "Rest a bit. I don't trust you to not start working again when you get back."

"Study. Locked. Joshua." The words might've been drier, but he was already nodding off, so the sleep just made it disconnected. "And you need to sleep too."

"Unlike someone, I have been getting a full night's rest." Besides, Brynhildr settled down behind me so that I could rest against her. "Just sleep for a bit. Humor me."

"Fine…" He closed his eyes and, hesitantly, I ran my fingers through his hair. "That feels nice."

"Does it? I'm glad." I smiled slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." With that, he fell fast asleep, his breathing evening out. He smiled while he slept, and curled into me a little. I watched him for a moment, making sure that he wasn't having a nightmare, and then looked up at the stars and the moonlight glittering off the water. Brynhildr crooned behind me and shifted her wing to hover a bit over both of us, like a blanket.

Did this help? Was this helpful? I had no idea. I hoped so, though. I wasn't really sure what else to do for him or, really, any of my friends, my family. But maybe Joshua was right. Maybe just being there was enough. I hoped.

* * *

Author's note: Eirika knowing a bit about Lyon's insecurities comes from the flashback scene in her Chapter 14 (Queen of the White Dunes); however, later dialogue always implied (to me at least) that she was never quite aware of the extent of said insecurities. Duessel's lance, and Valter's madness, come from his supports with Cormag, though the lore behind it is all mine (as well as Duessel being the reason why Valter wasn't outright executed for his crimes). Have some more information about the Heroes from the totally unexplored backstory. Duessel helping Amelia train comes from their B support. Myrrh has three supports in game: Saleh, Ephraim, and Dozla, hence why Dozla showed up in her list of people to ask.

Next Chapter - Phantom Ship


	33. Chapter 19) Phantom Ship

Chapter 19) Phantom Ship

* * *

 _And with our ships secured, we set off on our voyage. It'll take about a week to sail, or so everyone says. After the first day… well, the first day felt like a year. You couldn't do much on a ship, really. You were stuck in cramped quarters, unable to really find any true moment of peace. Even with all of our army spread out across multiple ships, the crowding grates on people's nerves. I'm lucky in that 'my' ship only really has people I know, but gods, I could see how it could be awkward at best. And that's not even going into the poor souls who got seasick._

 _Sea travel is a mess. Flying was so much better._

* * *

"Ah, this is _way_ better than sailing!" Tana sighed as we flew over the waters. We fliers took every opportunity we could to fly about to escape the ships. "If it was a day trip, it would be great. I've done that before. But actually traveling? Merchants are hardy people!"

"They are indeed," I laughed. I had never been more grateful for Brynhildr than I was now. If I couldn't have this sort of escape, I was sure I'd go mad. "I hope the time we supposedly save on ships counters all the illness and irritation."

"I hope so too, but it's supposed to be at _least_ a week shorter. Or something." Tana shrugged and leaned forward to pat Achaeus's neck. "It's hard to tell. The maps were designed more for style than actual _distance_. I mean; given the markers, the castles alone would take three days to traverse."

"Well, they _are_ huge." Still, I did have to agree. I hadn't seen the maps often, but they did make major locations far too large. "Still, I'm not sure everyone was prepared for how many seasick folk we have."

"Not in the least." Tana giggled and steered Achaeus a bit closer to bump shoulders with me and to pet Brynhildr's head. "But luckily, we've escaped!"

"And luckily, it doesn't seem the mounts are affected." Did horses even _get_ seasick? I had absolutely no idea. "Can you imagine that chaos?"

"Ugh, and just imagine if a different illness decided to make rounds."

"Gods, Natasha and L'arachel were worrying about how sanitary everything was just for that reason." Between medicines, healing staves, and very strict sanitary codes for camps, our army avoided epidemics despite being a very large and varied group that was in close contact a lot. Ships, however, turned most of it cramped and, worse, made it _much_ harder to implement some of those codes. "Every sneeze, cough, and sniffle is taken seriously."

"Innes tried to tell the healers to not 'waste resources' on such minor things."

"Oh, no…" I had to cackle at that. "Oh, gods, what made him think that was a good idea?"

"To be mildly fair, because I feel that I must even though he's my grumpy jerk of a brother…" Tana was giggling, though. "Innes hasn't slept for three days, which makes what little tact he has die."

"I bet that came up in the lecture too. The lack of sleep, not the lack of tact."

"I didn't hear, because Moulder dragged him away, but considering it's Moulder and Moulder has known Innes and me since we were itty-bitty little..." She shrugged and I bent over Brynhildr's neck, laughing far too hard. "I imagine a _lot_ came up. And if someone told me Moulder knocked Innes right out afterwards, I'd believe it!"

"It would serve him right for trying to order a healer!" Well, not really. I could admit that resources were an important thing to consider, both because we were on a ship and because we were in enemy territory where there was a _very_ good chance we wouldn't be able to stock up. At the same time, though, healers knew what they were doing when it came to medicine.

"Exactly!" Tana continued giggling, but strangely, it disappeared for such a sad look. "Ah…"

"What's wrong?" I didn't even have to tug Brynhildr to fly closer. She crooned worriedly. "Are the battles getting to you?"

"Surprisingly, no, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing." She shook her head. "No, I'm just worried about Cormag."

"Ah." I couldn't blame her for that. The closer we got to the capital, the more dour and sad Cormag got. He and Natasha talked frequently, and it wasn't uncommon to see Cormag resting near Duessel, who understood the pain of swearing to protect a country, and then having to fight it in order to save it. Not to mention how each battle brought us closer to Valter. "He'll be fine. We'll look out for him."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed, absently braiding Achaeus's mane. "I just wish I knew how to make him smile."

"Smiling might be a bit much to hope for in these circumstances. The best thing you can do for him is simply remind him that he's not alone." At least, that's what I hoped? It's what Joshua said I was doing to comfort. Or something. Besides, it's what… "That's what ultimately helped me. Not being alone. Having people near so that, when I was ready to pull myself up, it wasn't through my own waning strength."

"I see." Tana smiled softly. "Okay. I'll keep doing that, then."

We flew about for a while longer before we landed back on the ships and got Brynhildr and Achaeus back in their stalls, heavily modified to account for wings and bulk. Afterwards, Tana left to check on Innes, mostly to make sure he actually got some sleep like a sane person, and I headed for the deck to continue enjoying the fresh air. On the deck, sailing wasn't quite so bad, I supposed. The water was vast and blue, and the sea air was nice. I vastly preferred flying and never wanted to travel by boat again, but on the deck, it was tolerable. I wondered if I could get away with sleeping out here tonight instead of the room below.

"Ah, I didn't expect you to be back already." Ephraim joined me on the railing, smiling gently. Though the sailing was rough, he actually looked better than he had in Bethroaen. "Did you enjoy your flight?" he asked. "I've been tempted to ask just to escape the confines of the ship!"

"You can work it out with Brynhildr," I retorted with a grin. I was glad he was recovering. "But yes, it was nice. Brynhildr especially appreciates it. I know we did what we could, but…"

"The stalls really are too small, even with the modifications. You can't expand a stall on a ship like you can a stall in a stable. The ship has to be a very specific design and every bit of space has to be carefully planned."

"It makes sense, but Genarog and Brynhildr have some aching wing-joints from how tightly they have to fold their wings over." Still, the two behaved and they tolerated it with grace. "I must say, though, that this is my first time sailing, and I'm sure it'll be my last."

"I've never sailed either, truthfully. Renais being landlocked meant we could reach everywhere by horse. The only place you _could_ sail was a lake and Father never allowed Eirika and I do to that." He grinned, though there was sadness in it. He missed his dad dearly. "Eirika and I once tried to sneak off. Seth caught us, though."

"Somehow, I think there's a lot of stories that go 'we tried to sneak off, but Seth caught us before we could'." I smiled warmly when he laughed. It was his normal laugh. "Good, you're getting better. I'm glad."

"I've finally been able to wrap my head around things. It hurts horribly that I hurt Lyon so, that I contributed to his poor self-esteem accidentally." He laughed awkwardly, with a sheepish smile. "Though, now I have to figure out how to start that conversation. And I know I'll have to be the one."

"You can start off by pointing out your flaws." I grinned teasingly at him. "Like how stubborn and reckless you are. How arrogant you can be. How-"

"I don't need a list!" He scowled and I snickered. "Ugh… but that is a good idea. Maybe that paired with how he's _way_ better suited to ruling than I am?"

"That might work." I bit back any more teasing words. This was fairly serious, after all. "Such as, though? Practice a little."

"Well, the biggest is…" Ephraim trailed off, clearly thinking on his word choice. "You've had to have noticed this. I am drawn to battle. The stronger I get, the more I want to fight. Not exactly a healthy impulse for a king."

"Just my luck I'd fall for a battle-thirsty warrior." I smiled wryly and leaned against the railing a bit more. "I hate fighting."

"I think most _should_. Sparring, perhaps, but fighting a battle? That's not something one _should_ enjoy. But I do. I love the feeling of a good fight, one with lives on the line." He smiled bitterly when I winced. "It's not healthy. Not for anyone, but especially not a king. And I used to think it would never matter, that I could give the job to Eirika. But that's simply running away and being selfish. That was simply not thinking of the people around me, being focused on myself and my own glory."

"Going to say right now that if you get yourself killed, I'll…" I was going to half-joke about bringing him back to kill him again, but considering our circumstances, that was a little… "Please don't."

"I won't. I have to live, after all. For the sake of my people, and my resolve to not run away again." He looked up at the sky. "That said, I will continue to fight. This war needs to be fought. But I will check that impulse, in order to protect my people. So that I may fight for the 'right' reasons, for once."

"And those are?"

"For the sake of this world. For the sake of peace." He smiled warmly at me. "For your sake too, so that the day you no longer have to force yourself to fight can come sooner."

"I… that…" My face _burned_ with a blush. "OkaywellIthinkIamgoingtocheckonEirikanow!" With those very squeaky, spoken-so-fast-I-bit-my-tongue-twice words, I tried to escape, but Ephraim caught me by the waist and pulled me back, hugging me from behind. "Ephraim!"

"Eirika, since I think that's the only word I caught in that babble, is currently with Saleh because he's seasick." Ephraim kissed my very red cheek and nuzzled my neck. "And I do need to repay you for making sure I didn't get too lost in my self-pity."

"I didn't do anything." This was so embarrassing. Not to the point that I actually wanted to leave the hug or anything. But gods, my face was burning. "I just… um…"

"You did a lot." He was smirking. I knew he was smirking. "I love you."

"I love you too. I do not love your attempt to murder me by embarrassment." I scowled when he chuckled. "Ephraim!"

He continued hugging and teasing me, and I continued 'protesting', really just being embarrassed and trying in vain to hide it. He knew, though. He knew the difference, and so, enjoyed messing with me. It had been a while since we just had a fun moment to ourselves anyway.

* * *

"Looks like you've a little more color to your face!" I called down to Cormag, grinning. While it was later than usual for a flight, Cormag had looked so drained and borderline sickly that, after bullying him to visit the healers, I'd dragged him out for a flight. The first time he went flying since the journey started. "Good, good!"

"I think that's the wind blasting it," Cormag instantly retorted, smirking faintly. Genarog had wanted to fly closer to the water, so he was _way_ below me. "Not sure how 'good' that is."

"It's better than your sarcasm!" That he could, however, was good. Tana was right; he had been doing poorly recently. Everything was really starting to press into him. Glen's death. Valter. Fighting Grado. The high possibility of killing Selena. I knew how bad it could be. I knew how you could expect it to _be_ bad, and it be way, way worse. "You want to play tag?"

"With the _wyverns_?" Now he was laughing. It was a bitter, croaky laugh, like how a rusty hinge squeaked when used. But it was one. "No, no, and… let me think… no."

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!" Brynhildr growled in agreement. "See?"

" _She_ just wants to tackle Genarog!" Cormag rolled his eyes and groaned when Genarog also growled in agreement. "No tag, but we can race a bit. I mean; Genarog will win, but…"

"Sounds like a challenge!" And Brynhildr answered by launching forward, to my intense amusement.

Cormag yelped and yelped again when Genarog also surged forward, easily catching up with Brynhildr because, really, he _was_ faster. Brynhildr was strong and he was faster. That was their tradeoff. But Genarog purposely kept pace with Brynhildr to draw out the little game as long as possible. Both because they needed desperately to stretch out their wings and because before long, Cormag was laughing fully, he and I trading sarcastic taunts all the while. I wondered if he used to do things like this with Glen. There was a trace of nostalgic pain in his smiles and laughs. But, for the most part, he was having fun. That was good.

"We'd better start turning back," Cormag noted when Genarog and Brynhildr finally decided to slow down. We'd done our best to keep within sight of the ship, using turns and drops and rises to keep the 'race' going, but the ship was a little far. "Knowing our luck-"

"Don't say another word," I jokingly scolded. I leaned forward to scratch Brynhildr right behind her eye-ridge and smiled as she crooned. "Nope. Not one."

"Good point." He chuckled a bit and began leading the way back. However, he frowned, eyes narrowed. "Fog…?"

"Hmm?" I looked around and saw he was right. Fog _was_ rolling in quickly. "Oh, that'll be fun to sail through."

"Well, yes, but…" Cormag looked at me, and I stiffened when I saw how serious he was. "Fog isn't common this time of the year. Certainly not this fast, or at this hour. The early morning, perhaps, but the sun hasn't set yet."

"Oh." That… that didn't sound… "So, I'm not sure if anyone has told you, and I'm not sure anyone remembers, but there _were_ talks of a phantom ship up in Carcino…"

"There were?" Cormag immediately looked so done. "You've got to be… they had better forgotten. They seriously have better have just forgotten. Because if they decided to sail and think that the waters weren't…" He sighed, shaking his head. "Later. I can yell later. Let's get back to the ship."

Easier said than done. The fog really was rolling in quickly and it was _thick_. Within seconds, it was near impossible to see. Though at first, there were vague shapes, before long, there wasn't even that. I couldn't see the ship. I couldn't see Cormag and Genarog. I could _barely_ see Brynhildr's head, and I was literally on her back. I leaned down across her neck to be less of a target and relied solely on her. Her eyes were better than mine, and for a time, she seemed to know where she was going. But at one point, she stopped flying and looked around, the fog so thick that even she couldn't see. At this point, I felt like someone was trying to smother me in a thick blanket; I was only aware Brynhildr was looking around because I could feel her neck move. I couldn't _see_ it at all. It was terrifying. And there was no way in hell this amount of fog was natural. I'd never believe it.

But then, it didn't matter what I believed. Because something hit Brynhildr's wing and she instinctually drew it back from pain. And that sent us spiralling down. Brynhildr tried to quickly right herself and I unbuckled myself from the saddle, ready to drop down into the water if that was what was needed. But before I could make that call, an arrow went right through Brynhildr's other wing and we both fell. She shrieked. Pain? Fear? Desperately calling for Genarog? I wasn't sure. I couldn't be sure. Because unfortunately, that sudden drop had actually launched me _off_ and I was free-falling through the air. Much like I had when we first met Cormag and Genarog, except in many ways, much more terrifying. After all, I didn't _choose_ to drop this time.

In good news, though, I didn't fall far, and I didn't fall uncontrollably into water. Instead, I landed on something hard and bruised some things, but still managed to flip around and roll to bleed off momentum and when I scrambled to my feet, I swore I would thank Seth profusely for drilling ways to 'properly fall'. But then I realized the _bad_ news of my situation. I'd landed on a ship. A ship filled with monsters. Skeletons, revenants, mogalls, gargoyles… I could see so many. There was only one other human on this ship, a sickly looking older man wearing maroon bishop robes, and I didn't feel comforted by that in the slightest.

"Goodness, quite the entrance, child," the man murmured, bowing slightly. He spoke in that 'fatherly priest' tone, but there was something mad and mocking to it. "A tad rude as well, but one cannot blame the young for a lack of manners." He smiled, and it was twisted. It looked like a caricature of a smile. "I am Riev, general of Grado, the Blood Beryl. And you are…?"

"Please don't take offense, but I am not here by choice," I replied shakily. The fog was still thick. All I saw was monsters. And this general. A Grado General. What was with my luck and meeting Grado Generals? The only one I hadn't was Caellach! "I apologize for just falling in, however." I couldn't see Brynhildr. Where was she? I hadn't heard a 'splash', so I didn't think she'd fallen into the water. Gods, I hoped not. She'd drown. That was… that was…!

"Good, good. Apologies are good. But generally, when one gives their name, child, you give your own." Riev studied me closely, eyes narrowed. I felt like a bug being inspected by a mangy bird. "Though there is something familiar about… ah, yes, I remember." That twisted smile grew and 'warmed'. Like a corpse bloating from the heat. "Tragic Orson mentioned his wife had a sister. You must be young Emma then." He chuckled, amused. I felt sick. "Did you enjoy my lord's little gift? Was it a joy to see your sister again?"

"I had to kill her again, so no, not really."

"You did? My, what a hateful young girl you are. Killing your own sister..." He sighed and I really felt sick. "That you could even do it… you must have hated her so very dearly."

"Excuse me?" That… that was so wrong I could almost start laughing. That… that was what he was…? "Never."

"Really? She was so very fragile, yes? And she left you all alone." He chuckled to himself, amused. All I could think was that… was that this had to be the man who tempted Orson. Probably the one who tempted Lyon. So, not only was I mad about him being just so damn wrong… I was mad about what he had to have done to those two as well. "You must've hated her for being fragile. Hated her for dying. Hated her for leaving. Hated her for hurting you so." I had to resist rolling my eyes and, instead, got the dagger from the gauntlet-sheathe. "If only she hadn't died… if only she had taken better care of herself… then Orson wouldn't have gone mad. Then you'd have your lovely little family still."

"Gods, you're so full of shit." And I lunged forward and stabbed him. It wasn't a killing blow or anything. There had been enough distance for him to react and partially dodge. But I still did get his side, and it was worth him gasping from pain. "Is that how you got Orson? Damn, he was way worse than I thought if shit like that worked." I growled in annoyance, both at myself and at Orson for buying this bastard's… whatever. "Good start, bad ending. Want to try again?"

"Quite a bit of skill." Despite the pain he had to be in, he still smiled. I half-wondered if he was dead himself, but he bled like a normal person. "Might be interesting, to see their reactions as you try to kill them."

"Won't happen."

"Oh yes. You'll die first." He chuckled, amused. I… I realized the sheer stupidity of attacking when I was all alone. Surrounded by monsters. In the middle of the very open deck of a ship with nowhere to hide. "We've been experimenting with such things, but we can always use more practice…!" He laughed and spread his arms wide. "Rise and rage, my precious children of darkness! Ruin the wood and ride the seas! Drown your foes and devour their flesh! Celebrate-!"

Whatever he wanted them to celebrated was drowned out by twin shrieks piercing the air, two wyverns screaming all their fury as they emerged from the fog. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Brynhildr and brought up my not-armed arm as Cormag swung by on Genarog. He pulled me up into the saddle easily and then we were flying up, escaping the bow's range through sheer height. As soon as we stopped the ascent, I sheathed the dagger and then rested my head against Cormag's back.

"Sorry that took so long," Cormag murmured. He reached back and patted my head. Genarog crooned reassuringly, and Brynhildr flew close to bump her head against my hand. She flew… her wing was still injured, so her flying wasn't as smooth as it should be. "Genarog managed to find Brynhildr before she hit the water, thanks to her shriek, but then we had to hunt through the damn fog."

"It's fine," I replied. I closed my eyes and relaxed at last. "We need to warn the others, though."

"Yeah, and I hope we can find them in the fog." Cormag tugged the reins and we went in… a direction. It was almost impossible to tell what way was up with this fog. "You injured?"

"Bruised from the fall, definitely. I don't think I've got anything worse, but I know I should get checked." I petted Brynhildr, eyeing her wing warily as she flew next to Genarog. She was wobbling a bit. "Will Brynhildr…?"

"I wouldn't trust her to maintain altitude with you on her, but Genarog can carry us and support her. The injury is minor. It's _when_ it hit that caused most of the trouble."

"Okay." I sighed. "This better not be used as an excuse to keep us locked in the ships."

"If they try, we'll remind them that Genarog and Brynhildr are more than capable of breaking things when bored." Genarog and Brynhildr growled in agreement, startling laughter out of us. "See? Should be fine."

"Good." Now, hopefully, we could get through the fog before the monster ship attacked our friends. "Good."

* * *

Thankfully, due to Cormag gambling on 'since we had to fly this direction to reach the monster ship, so maybe that direction directly opposite will lead us back to our ship' and winning the gamble, we did actually make it back before the monster ship attacked. I immediately went to the healers for medical treatment, with L'arachel and Moulder tending to me directly and Natasha healing up Brynhildr. I made sure to warn everyone about Riev's presence, though Duessel was fairly certain Riev would leave before things went to outright combat. It was apparently what he always did, set up and run. That was why we hadn't encountered him sooner. Bastard.

"How are you holding up, Emma?" Vanessa asked, flying near. Her armor was blackened in a couple of places from a mogall's magic. "I'm sorry about not getting that mogall sooner."

"I'm fine," I reassured her, finishing bandaging my arm. Carrying medicine in my gauntlet really was the best decision I ever made. "The talisman Myrrh gave me blunts the worst of it." If we ever had time to just walk through a market or something, I seriously needed to buy her something. "And the thing literally appeared out of nowhere." Well, maybe not, but I'd been distracted trying to keep a gargoyle off Vanessa. "How are you?"

"I'm holding, though I am very certain we need healers among our fliers."

"Yeah." The physic staves helped, but they did have a maximum range and, honestly, we fliers tended to fly out of that range more often than not. "At least the fog isn't as thick?"

"That's true." Vanessa smiled slightly, acknowledging the silver lining. When the phantom ship attacked, the fog had thinned enough that we had very good visual of each other and the ships. Thank everything. "Ah, but I best return to assisting Princess Tana."

"And I'm sure Cormag needs a breather." I looked around and found the two not far away from each other, with Cormag helping Tana deal with… well, the ones that she didn't completely tear through. Tana used Vidofnir exclusively and the Winged Lance were proving well just why the Sacred Twins, the Holy Weapons, won the first war with the Demon King. It just obliterated most of the monsters, and when she could line up a few in a row… well, I'd seen her take out five monsters with one swing before Vidofnir returned to her hand. "I hope they don't take much longer to execute the main plan."

"As do I. We've lost a few." Both of us winced as, right on cue, we heard a terrified scream and turned just in time to see a pegasus and its rider fall through the air and disappear into the waters. "I hate naval battles. At least on the ground, you typically die as soon as you hit."

"Well, falling from a large height does hurt, even in water." But if it didn't kill you on impact, then the water would slowly drown you. Death by drowning… death by suffocation, really… that wasn't a pleasant or quick way to go. "Have any fallen on the ships?"

"A few." She nodded to one, not the one I had traveled in. Someone had moved the corpses, but the large 'splat' of blood still remained on the deck. "Don't fall."

"Not my plan."

We split up then, with my relieving Cormag of his gargoyle duty so that he could rest for a brief moment. Because the pegasus knights had less defenses than wyverns, and because of the number of mogalls, Cormag and I had been ordered to deal with the gargoyles. We had to deal with the fliers for the main plan to work. The archers did what they could to assist, particularly Innes with Nidhogg, but the monster fliers flew high, out of reach of the bows, until just before they struck. And the archers had their own troubles, mostly picking off the monster archers. So, while the pegasus knights stuck near their respective ships, Cormag and I were flying _everywhere_ as the shields. My armor would need to be repaired and I could feel the bruises. Cormag's armor was dented in multiple places. I was running out of arrows. All of us were flagging. We weren't lasting much longer.

Genarog's sudden warning shriek was the only warning Brynhildr and I got before we were nearly skewered from behind. Even with that warning, my neck was clipped and Brynhildr had to basically tumble through the air to avoid me getting flat out decapitated. I dug through my pack quickly for some bandages and tied them around my neck as I looked up to whatever almost killed me. A gargoyle, but this one was purple in color and larger. Noticeably more muscled. Faster, too. It dodged Genarog and Cormag's strike, and Cormag grunted in pain as it whipped its lance across his back, actually dislodging the armor.

Since I'd been below, I managed to catch it and tossed it back to Cormag as we stared at the creature. It was definitely… it was definitely different. I thought of the tales of the Demon King, and how the Demon King made stronger and stronger monsters. I wondered if we'd reached that point in our own little 'war'. That… that wouldn't be good.

"The leader would show up when we're exhausted," Cormag growled. He buckled the armor back on, not even bothering to bandage his injury first. "Ugh…"

"Gods, and we _have_ to deal with this thing," I sighed. Brynhildr huffed, trying to say that this was no problem. But I could see how she struggled to keep aloft. "You know; when Ephraim told me this was the plan, I didn't expect it to take so damn long."

"To be fair, and I'm sure we have to be, I think there's way more monsters than expected."

"Well, monsters don't complain about being crammed into small spaces." I looked around to see if there were any other gargoyles near. Instead, I saw a couple of pegasus knights drop because their pegasi were too exhausted to keep flying. One managed to make a hard landing on a ship. The other didn't. "If we don't get it fast…"

"We're the ones hitting the water." Cormag sighed and patted Genarog's neck. Genarog was having difficulties flying too. "Low or high?"

"High."

Brynhildr launched herself up, and barely dodged the gargoyle's strike, the lance's tip scraping across her scales. Cormag and Genarog flew right at the gargoyle, playing bait while Brynhildr and I hovered above and I lined up a shot. It was difficult. My arms were tired. My vision was blurring. Brynhildr accidentally dropped a bit because she was just so exhausted. But I managed to fire two arrows, and both went right through its wings. The gargoyle screamed in pain and dropped, desperately trying to right itself. But Cormag had Genarog head down to better make sure I didn't shoot _them_ on accident, so the gargoyle fell right into Genarog's waited fangs and claws. Genarog didn't exactly rip it into _pieces_ , too tired, but he did make sure to tear the throat and guts out. Confirming the kill.

Shortly after it hit the water, we heard the series of whistles that _thankfully_ signaled that the main plan was finally being executed. Cormag and I looked down just in time to see all of our magic users to throw a barrage of spells at the monster ship, coordinating until it was blasted with holes and set aflame. The eeriest thing was how the monsters just… didn't react. I mean; it made sense. They were monsters. They didn't feel anything. But to see the burning wreckage slowly sink and not see anything but the monsters continuing to try and attack. Uncaring. Just mindless. It was creepy. I didn't like it. But that didn't matter because even with the monster ship demolished, our jobs weren't done. They wouldn't be done until the last flying monster hit the water, so Cormag and I went right back to fighting, struggling to not join them in the waves.

I was never doing anything like this again. Never. I'd seduce Ephraim out of it if I had… gods, that didn't even make sense in my head.

* * *

"Why is Emma asleep in our war room again?"

"Because she and Cormag wore themselves out because you all had to delay the plan so much."

"I'm not asking why she was asleep. I'm asking why she's asleep _here_."

"She had the room first. Obviously."

Sleep took a while to leave me, so I had no idea who was 'arguing' because I was too sleepy to identify voices quite yet. After all, thanks to the conversation, I was more 'dozing' than 'sleeping'. That said, I certainly didn't want to wake up fully or anything, even as I became a little more aware of my surroundings. After being cleared by the healers, and ordered to rest, I'd stumbled into the closest room and just passed out on the floor, tucking myself into the corner to stay out of the way. It also happened to be the room that the leaders decided was their 'war room'. Joshua had tried to wake me up to find a more comfortable place to sleep; my exhaustion-numb, half-asleep mind decided to just use him as my pillow. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to wake up. I just wanted to sleep because some asshole had encouraged _caution_ without actually making sure we fliers were okay. Besides, Joshua was comfy.

"Just go back to talking," Joshua chided, running a hand through my hair. When I used him as my pillow, he'd simply settled on the ground to let me. He smelled strongly of frankincense, hinting he'd put on perfume not long before coming here. "We literally had fliers die because their mounts were too tired to keep them aloft. I think all of them earned the right to sleep wherever they please."

"Was she cleared by the healers?" Saleh asked gently. I had no idea why he was in the meeting, since he normally stayed back. Well, maybe one idea. If Myrrh was here, then he would be here to support her. "I know Princess Tana almost wasn't checked because she fell asleep before making it there."

"Yeah, she was. Natasha checked her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a second check, though."

"Perhaps if she wakes up more, I will, but for now, she should just sleep."

"Besides, isn't she adorable~?" Joshua laughed a bit. "So, what were we talking about? How much longer to Taizel, right? It'll be a few days still, yes?"

I fell fully asleep again, blissfully too tired to have nightmares. Or any sort of dream. It was just darkness wrapped around me and letting me rest. Because I could. I could sleep. I was safe. I was tired. I ached a lot, and I didn't when I slept.

"Is she okay still?" That was Eirika, and her voice dragged me from that slumber. "She hasn't even twitched," Eirika continued softly. She sounded close, so she must be crouching by Joshua and me. "Not used to her sleeping so still."

"Petal's fine," Joshua reassured. He still ran his hand through my hair, and it was soothing. "Bit of a rough day. Plus we need to remember that far too long fight was _after_ being shot down and confronting a general."

"That was so terrifying." Eirika's voice was so small. "All we heard was Brynhildr's shriek. Couldn't see anything."

"It really was. I want to know where that fog came from."

"I do too. It had to be magic." She poked my cheek. I was too tired to bat her hand away. "Yep, she's out. She normally at least makes a face when I do that."

"You do it often?"

"She makes funny noises if you poke her cheek while she's waking up." Eirika giggled, and then there was the sound of movement. "Ah, Ephraim, has Myrrh picked out…?"

I went right back to sleeping, though I did remain enough consciousness to think. Just a little. Mostly about Riev. That act he had… that really bad way he tried to shake me… there was no way he was the Demon King. He was creepy, not scary. So, there was that theory that he was playing 'host' to the Demon King's soul. So, was it in someone else? In that Dark Stone? Hard to say, and then I was back to blissful oblivion.

"Joshua, I'm sorry, but we do need you to actually get up and _see_ what's on the table." Ephraim's voice was very quiet, clearly trying to not wake me. Sadly, I'd become quite the light sleeper, but I was still too tired to actually get up. "We need your insight for the battle plan," Ephraim continued, still so very quiet. A hand gently caressed my cheek, and I knew it had to be Ephraim. Joshua was _still_ running his hand through my hair. Or maybe he was braiding it. I couldn't tell. "So…"

"Ugh, I'm comfy, though," Joshua complained. Still, he sighed and gently moved me off of him. I made some sort of protesting noise. "Do we have a blanket or pillow or something for her?"

"No pillow, but Saleh did leave to get a couple of blankets. Myrrh is nodding off too."

"Well, it's quite late. Shouldn't she be in her room?"

"Myrrh hates sleeping alone, and we need Saleh's magical insights still."

"Oh, well, in that case…"

There was still some murmuring, though it faded to nonsensical noise to me. I almost went back to total sleep, but then there was the sound of someone laying down next to me, which almost confused me enough to push myself up. But then I heard Myrrh sleepily mumble something and had just enough reason to piece it together. Myrrh was nodding off. She hated sleeping alone. So, they were setting her up next to me. When I realized that, I made myself move just enough to wrap an arm around her. I thought I heard Eirika and Saleh laugh before I felt someone drape a blanket over us.

That was the last time I woke up during that night. I just continued to sleep and when I woke up the next morning, Myrrh and I were still in the room, still covered in a blanket. The only thing 'different' was that Myrrh had apparently burrowed closer to me during the night, curled up so that her face rested against my chest. I blinked blearily at her for a moment before deciding to just go right on back to sleep until _she_ woke up. We weren't going to have too many restful days. I'd take the sleep while I could.

* * *

 _Huh. Again, no one joined. Then again, we were out on the water. Who would join out here? A pirate, maybe?_

* * *

Author's notes: So, if you were playing just Ephraim's route, this is actually the chapter where you'd recruit L'arachel and Dozla (and L'arachel reveals her heritage pretty quickly instead of trying to sit on it for a few chapters as she does in Eirika's route). Riev does show up, briefly, highlighting how he's the one behind the phantom ships that have been destroying the normal ships, so have him for a slightly more extensive appearance (the 'rise and rage' bit right before Brynhildr shows up comes from the game script). Ephraim's line of 'fighting for peace. And for your sake as well' comes from his Legendary alt in FE Heroes, as is how 'unkingly' it is to be drawn as he is to battle. FE Heroes also reveals that Myrrh hates sleeping alone. In-game, you'd have to kill all the enemy units, like most ship maps, but we're just setting the ship on fire and going on our way. That's technically killing them all, yes? Despite the constant mention of fog, this map isn't actually a fog of war map in game. _All_ Sacred Twin weapons deal effective damage against monster units, hence why Tana is extra effective.

Next Chapter - Landing at Taizel


	34. Chapter 20) Landing at Taizel

Chapter 20) Landing at Taizel

* * *

 _The rest of the trip was spent in uneasy silence. No one was allowed to fly far, and even then, it was really only to scout around, to see if there were any other ships. But there were none. Just us, on the water. Sailing to Taizel. Everyone expected a fight when we landed, of course. But some of us had expected there to be more than one 'monster ship', and there wasn't. One attempt and then they were done._

 _I felt like we were being lured into a trap. Or being used as the bait for a trap. And I had no idea which one felt worse._

* * *

It was early when the sailors shouted that Taizel was on the horizon. Very early, actually. Eirika and I complained because it was so early, but the shouts had woken us up. Worse, since we had just registered 'shouting' at first, we had been on our feet and half out the door with our weapons before we realized what was going on. Meaning we were wide awake at far too early of an hour. The sun hadn't even fully risen yet.

"It's so tiny," Eirika whispered, leaning against the railing. Since we were awake, we decided to just go up on the deck to see what the fuss was about. "I can barely see it."

"That's not much worse than me, and I've been training to look at far targets," I replied, rubbing some of the sleep from my eyes before yawning. Just because we were awake didn't mean we weren't tired. "Still, you'd think that if they're shouting so loud, we'd be closer."

"I wonder if there has to be some special protocol when pulling in?"

"We're going to worry about being 'proper' about appearing in an enemy's port?"

"Not that sort of protocol." She giggled. "Like, maybe there's markers they have to avoid? Rocks that we can't see?"

"Ah, I see." Still, I didn't think that would be the case. If it did, then the port wouldn't be that great for trade and the like. Or, at least, that's what I thought. Though, I supposed it could be a warning to prep _for_ docking. Or whatever the term was. "Taizel, huh? It's supposed to be a straight shot to the capital, yes?"

"Yes, though we'll have to be careful to skirt around the marsh. Or, at least, I _hope_ the plan is to avoid it." Eirika made a face. "Visited once with Lyon because he'd read that the silt was good for… something. And I thought it was definitely a good idea to go with him. Ephraim and I got _so_ muddy. Lyon did too, of course, but he was so happy that…" She trailed off, wincing. "Oh, Lyon…"

"Closer we get to the capital, closer we get to him, huh?"

"Yes." Eirika leaned more on the railing and stared out over the horizon. "I wonder how he feels, knowing we're here. Is he sad? Happy? Nervous? I hope he doesn't think we've betrayed him."

"Considering before, I doubt that's on his mind."

"I hope so. He'll always be our friend, one of our very dearest." She sighed and hung her head. And then winced again. "Ugh… my neck is so tight. Can feel the stretch all the way down my back."

"Not helped by how cramped we are." I moved behind her to massage her shoulders and she sighed happily. "I am definitely looking forward to being off the damn ships."

"You and me both. If it was a day thing, I'd probably enjoy it, but sailors and merchants have honestly reached the top of my list of 'hardiest people ever'." Eirika's expression became sad, though. "The Grado soldiers that fight with us must be the bravest, though."

"Takes a lot of courage to stand up to something you swore to protect, realize that the only way to protect it is to fight it, and then actually do so." I moved to her side again, sitting on the railing. "And here they are."

"I'm terribly worried for all of them, especially Cormag and Duessel. They'd been fairly high ranked, after all." Eirika dropped her head again. "I worry for Natasha as well. She doesn't fight directly, of course, but I'm sure she's conflicted over healing the people who are…"

"Less than you think." I'd actually asked Natasha about that, worried that she was hiding how she felt. "As a healer, she knows that sometimes, you have to lance a wound. Healing isn't always a painless experience." It helped, though, that most the people she had been close to were… well, dead. She felt conflicted, but could more easily separate her emotions from it because she didn't see people she personally knew.

Now Cormag? Duessel? They did. Duessel had even taken to whispering the names of the fallen, so that he would remember to write their families. And I'd caught Cormag crying more than once in Genarog's stall, whispering apologies. And that was just with who we had killed in Bethroen. The worst was yet to come.

"That all said, I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to be off the damn ships, just like the rest of us," I noted lightly, swinging my legs. Eirika laughed and nodded in agreement. "So… oh, hey there." Tana and Marisa walked over, Tana yawning still, and leaned on the railing next to Eirika. "Did the sailors wake you up too?"

"Yeah, and attempts to fall back asleep were complete and utter failures," Tana yawned, rubbing at her eyes. Marisa sympathetically patted her shoulder. "Gods, why did they have to be so loud? Could wake the dead with..." Tana paused and grimaced. "You know; sayings like that just feel wrong, knowing what we do now."

"Still surprised that it's possible," Marisa murmured. She narrowed her eyes, but frowned thoughtfully. "Almost glad that they went to Grado and not, say, Jehanna. I can think of quite a few who would've jumped on the chance. And the ones they would've brought back probably would've been skilled mercenaries in their own route."

"Still terrified at the idea of fighting the dead, and I don't mean the entombed or whatever." Tana leaned onto Eirika, whimpering. "You know; adventure stories were _way_ more fun when you didn't live them."

"They're still fun. You just learn to empathize a little more. That's what Tethys says, at least." Marisa smiled faintly. Just faintly, though. "She enjoys reading stories about orphans on the streets making it, despite once being one herself."

"Really?" Tana's eyes widened. "No way! I thought she at least had a happy family."

"She does now. Us." Marisa shrugged. "Not to say that those with happy families don't become mercenaries, mind. If anything, they're more likely because they want to provide for their families. Nobles tend to be the only ones who don't become mercenaries."

"Except Joshua."

"Except our very weird, very skilled King, yes." Marisa looked at Taizel, slowly growing larger in the distance. "You know; if things had gone differently, I'd probably have met you all here instead of Carcino."

"Really?" Eirika asked. She leaned against Tana and looked at Marisa curiously. "Why?"

"I was nearly sent to Taizel by mistake when I took the contract. Then the Guild caught me and told me that I had to head to Carcino," Marisa explained. She reached back to fix her ponytail. "Of course, they'd already messed up by giving me the contract in the first place."

"Why is it that there is a rule against those of the same group being on opposite sides? I like it, but…"

"Basically to lessen the chances of mercenaries doing what I did, and to lessen the chances of there being a personal stake to things. Jobs should be just jobs, after all." Marisa's eyes suddenly narrowed and she lifted herself up to lean forward over the railing. "That's weird."

"What is?" Eirika frowned. I looked over at Taizel and froze when I saw… "What's wrong?"

"The hell is flying?" I whispered. I watched the shapes in the distance, flying over the city, trying to make out the silhouettes. "They're not wyverns. They're too…" In fact, I'd swear they were… "Gargoyles?" But why would…?

"Bunches of them," Marisa quietly agreed. She got off the railing and heading towards the stairs. "I'm getting Saleh and Myrrh."

"Yeah…" This… this wasn't good. If they were really monsters, then... "Innes and Cormag too. Cormag has fought them, and Innes has the best eyes." I almost said 'Neimi', but then remembered she was on another ship. Same for Vanessa. "Just in case." More like so that Myrrh didn't feel pressured, but that was why Marisa was getting Saleh anyway. "Oh gods."

Marisa ended up getting everyone, just by happenstance. Everyone had been stirring, so when Marisa had suddenly come down and told Saleh, Myrrh, Innes, and Cormag that I wanted them on deck… well, they followed, curious. And saw the same thing we did and stared in horror when Myrrh confirmed what Marisa and I had suspected. Monsters were flying over Taizel. Monsters were flying openly in a city, and who would likely attack us as soon as we landed.

Well, if we needed more proof the Demon King was involved, we just got it. Gods, what the hell was going on?

* * *

Taizel was abandoned. It was easy to tell, because only monsters greeted us when the boats pulled in and because no one shrieked and came running out during the battle, even when a monster or soldier was thrown through a window. And you could tell it had been a while, based on how some of the houses and buildings had fallen into disrepair. Based on how the gardens were overgrown with weeds, and the stores of extra food were rotted and molded. Now, whether it had been evacuated or if the monsters killing everyone, I wasn't sure. There was no blood or corpses, but that meant nothing. Between the monsters, weather, and whatever the hell else… well, the lack of bodies didn't mean anything. But it was still sad to see. And terrifying because this was, no doubt, a sight that had been very, very common during the war with the Demon King.

"EMMA!" Of course, being distracted by the lack of non-monster life wasn't exactly the best of ideas when fighting monsters, but in my defense, I was tired, I had Brynhildr, we had been doing well, and who the _hell_ expected an axe that was easily half the size of a wyvern come flying at them anyway?

"Brynhildr, have I mentioned recently how much I love you?" I squeaked, after I processed the giant axe (which was, seriously, easily half-Brynhildr's size and could've even _been_ her size) that she had dodged. Brynhildr crooned in response. "Holy… mother of the gods…" And I could only watch in horror as that giant axe obliterated two pegasus knights who didn't see it until it was too late. It then arced around and killed even more, not leaving much of a body to gawk at. Just mangled bits of pegasus and rider hitting the ground with 'plops' and 'splats' and dull 'clangs' and 'clinks' from the pieces of armor and weapons. "The hell is…?" Brynhildr launched herself up to make sure the axe didn't hit us. "Who was near me?" I tried to remember what the formation had been, but all I could remember was… "Tana?"

"Emma!" To my relief, Tana flew beside me almost immediately, pale and shaken by what the hell just happened. "You know…" she began shakily. One shaking hand patted Achaeus's neck. The other hand gripped Vidofnir tightly. "I was just thinking something was about to go wrong. Everything had been going so well."

"It really had." Since we had seen the monsters ahead of time, we'd had ample time to prepare and determine basic strategies. And there hadn't been a _lot_ of monsters. But… "Think it's that weird horse-monster thing we fought in the mountains?"

"The axe seemed a little big for that?" Tana looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. "There's Vanessa and Cormag." She lifted a hand to signal them, and both waved back, smiling. "So, personal side, we're okay. Sort of."

"Now, where did…?" I followed the axe's path, easily 'visible' still because of the unique splats on the ground and then I had to stare and struggle to not drop my bow from sheer shock. "What in all the bloody hells?"

"What are you… oh gods…" Tana gasped, covering her mouth as she saw what I did. A giant monster, easily two or three times the size of a human if not more, which lumbered through the cities, destroying buildings as it passed. A few soldiers tried to strike at it, but it swatted them to the side, not even bothering with the giant axe it carried. It then picked up a couple of the soldiers and casually threw them into its mouth, all their bones snapping with the crunch of its teeth. "I'm going to throw up."

"You know; I didn't think monsters ate, for some reason?" I struggled to think of what the monster was named, because things with names weren't quite as scary, and finally remembered it when I saw the single eye in its head. A cyclops, one of the last monsters created by the Demon King, giants who wielded axes far larger than humans could ever hope to carry. Its presence didn't speak well for what happened to the citizens of the town. Its presence didn't speak well to how much power the Demon King had recovered. "I mean; they're alive, sure, but…"

"Well, some of them?" Tana and I both froze when the cyclops looked right at us. Right at her. And grinned, with people's limbs sticking out between rotting teeth. "Y-you think it senses the Sacred Twin?"

The answer was 'possibly yes' as it threw its axe again, right at us. And it watched _her_ as we flew away, ignoring me until she and I regrouped. Which wasn't a good thing. It watching, not us regrouping. If Tana could keep her distance, sure, she could bait it, but if she got hit even once...

"Tana!" Cormag flew near us, expression grim. "Tana, go ahead and land!" he ordered. Tana hesitated and looked around at everyone else. "All of us are going to land too, but…"

"But we're going to make sure there are no gargoyles and mogalls!" Vanessa added, joining us. She had blood splattered across her face, in a different pattern from the rest of us. I wondered if she'd been right by one of the victims. I knew better than to ask. "And do a rescue. Please, Princess Tana. If it's tracking the Sacred Twin, then you heading down will help us more than you remaining aove."

"...Right, I understand," Tana whispered. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair; it had been knocked clear out of her ponytail. "This _was_ just a basic battle before that thing arrived."

"Perhaps that should've been our first warning." Vanessa smiled warmly at her. "Tell Prince Innes that all fliers are landing. We can't play around with that thing."

"Of course."

"Emma and I will be the last two down," Cormag half-suggested, half-declared. He glanced at me and I nodded, knowing why. Genarog and Brynhildr had their scales, plus the armor they both wore. If there were any fliers that stood a chance of surviving a hit, it was ours. "We'll meet you below."

"And then we can complain about how the gods actually made the ships preferable," I joked, smiling. It got a few tired laughs. "Cormag, I'll take the left."

Despite what we said, I actually didn't get all that far. Partly because most of the fliers had, smartly, landed basically as soon as we all processed the cyclops. And partly because Saleh called for me. And he never did that. Not on the battlefield, at least.

"I see the fliers are landing," Saleh murmured when Brynhildr landed next to him. He was perfectly poised, even as the wind from the wings buffeted him. "That's good."

"Yeah, we need a new plan," I replied, glancing around. The skies were empty, but if any gargoyles had been waiting for this… "Do you need a ride? Surprised you're in this area."

"Well, the cyclops scattered what ground formations we had." He hesitated a bit. "I need a favor, actually."

"A favor?"

"Yes." Saleh held up Excalibur. The first time he'd held it since we left Jehanna. "According to legend, the cyclops does not fare well against magic. I hold the only magical Sacred Twin in our hands."

"So, you want me to get you to a better position?"

"Yes, but…" Again, he hesitated. "I want to hit it from above."

"You want to what." That had to be the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard him say. And the only ridiculous thing, to be quite honest. "Why?"

"Excalibur is powerful and we are scattered. To get enough power to use it on the ground and strike down the cyclops, I would risk obliterating large parts of the town and our army. Plus there is potential shrapnel. I believe striked from above, however, will minimize that damage, particularly since the fliers are landed."

"Ah." Okay. I could make some sense of that. "Why me?"

"It senses Sacred Twins and prioritizes them. You saw it with Princess Tana. Eirika is actually in the infirmary with broken arms and ribs because even though she was farther back in the formation, it prioritized her and we did not expect it. King Joshua has a concussion and cracked skull for a similar reason, and that was with dodging."

"They are?!" Cold dread spiked through me. "A-are they okay?"

"They will be fine, but they show the danger. And they show the danger to me."

"...I understand." I got it now. It was the same reasoning for why Cormag decided he and I would be the last ones down. And between Genarog and Brynhildr, Brynhildr had the better chance of surviving a hit. You had to assume you were going to get hit. You couldn't gamble on a miss. One misstep, and you were gone. "Well, Brynhildr?" I leaned down to look at her. After a moment, Brynhildr nodded, accepting the risk. "Okay." I sat back up and held out my hand to Saleh. "Climb on, Saleh."

"My thanks." He took my hand and let me pull him into the saddle. "Let's try to get as high as we can."

Brynhildr waited just long enough for Saleh to settle on before launching herself in the air, going as very, _very_ high, hopefully too high for the cyclops to notice. Its attention wasn't on us, yet, so that certainly helped with being stealthy. But from up high, I could see the chaos. After all, even if the cyclops was the worst of the lot, it wasn't the _only_ one. Thankfully, there were still no gargoyles or mogalls, but I could see the entombed and wights from here. I could see the mauthe doogs. They were gleefully taking advantage of the scattered formations, and the cyclops just shrugged off… everything, really. And ate the ones who got too close.

"Why is it so hard to kill?" I whispered, guiding Brynhildr carefully over the battlefield. My heart was pounding, to the point that I worried that it would bruise my ribs. "And, forgive me, but I am now wondering why we don't do, say, a fire spell?"

"The cyclops were made to guard the very doors of Fomortiis's temple, and thus, are capable of resisting a great deal of damage and, worse, regenerate," Saleh answered grimly. His eyes showed both how worried and afraid he was, a clear sign of just how badly he felt both. "Think of how long Gilliam and Duessel can stand against an enemy army with a healer's support."

"Well, damn." That was actually a bit tame of a curse, but I didn't feel like saying anything. "What are the other mages going to do?"

"I'm the only one capable of fighting." He said the words lightly, but they were very chilling. "Almost all the Rausten ones have been dragged back for healing duties, the ones not injured at least. Lute and Artur were knocked out by shrapnel from the axe. Ewan was injured by a mauthe doog, to the point of being confined to the infirmary. I already told you about Eirika."

"Yes, you…" And that was when I noticed something. "Ooo, no title~! Sounds like things are getting interesting."

"I… we're in the middle of a very risky thing."

"And I'm trying to not pass out from anxiety. Deal with it." By this point, we were right above the cyclops. It was slow moving, so we could aim, but…"How are you doing, Saleh?"

"On what? Doing something that I'd definitely scold Ewan for?"

"Adults always do stuff like that." I shook my head. "But no, I meant the air. Is it too thin?"

"I lived in the mountains. We would have to go much higher for me to feel the effects of the thinned air."

"Should we, then?" I glanced back at him. "I can still go up."

"...No, I'm not sure I'll be able to aim from much higher up. Not properly, at least." He leaned against me and held his hand out, gripping Excalibur with the other. "I'm going to focus the spell below to lessen the chances of it hurting Brynhildr."

"And how risky is that?"

"For you? Nothing significantly more."

"And you?"

"I will be very exhausted, but I shouldn't pass out. In theory." He smiled very, very slightly. "This is very much something I'd scold Ewan for."

"Well, that's why the adults take the risks." The wind began picking up and, a short distance below, I could see faint green lines of light slowly tracing a pattern in the skies. "What's the pattern?"

"It normally appears under the caster, but since I shifted where the spell focuses, it formed there." His voice was thin and a breathy from strain, and I glanced back worriedly. But his expression was as stoic as always. "Almost…"

"That's fast." The cyclops began looking around and brought its arm down and back, like it was about to throw. But it wasn't looking at _us_ , so maybe… "Saleh, you might want to…" I grabbed the arm he held Excalibur with and brought it around my waist. Still not looking at us, but… "Just in case it-"

It threw the axe, and that's when I realized why it had been 'looking away'. It had actually been preparing to spin and swing, to get enough momentum to throw the axe hard. Right at us. And because we hadn't really expected it, it hit. It hit _hard_. My vision went white from pain. Saleh gasped and coughed behind me. Brynhildr screeched and flew up higher, leaving a trail of something in her wake.

As the initial shock faded, I realized a few things. The 'trail of something' was metal, because Brynhildr's armor had shattered from the impact. My left arm got caught between Brynhildr and me and was either bruised or broken. My chest and ribs were in a similar state. Saleh was wheezing because the impact had slammed me into him, so he struggled to breath and choked on blood from a bloodied nose and lip. And all of this was when we were _very_ high in the air, much higher than most of us would fly.

"Saleh, you alive?" I asked, coughing. A bit of blood splattered my hand, and I tasted iron in my mouth. I hoped it was just a busted lip or a cut in my mouth. "Please tell me you are."

"Somehow," he managed. He spat out more blood. "Thank you for making sure I was secure."

"Of course." The cyclops wasn't looking at us, but now we knew that didn't mean anything. However, the spell lines were still there. "The spell?"

"The base is still there, but I would need to focus, and clearly, the cyclops is smarter than anticipated."

"Yeah…" A quick checked proved that my arm wasn't broken. At least, I could move my hand and wrist. So, a very stupid idea came to mind and I sighed. "Willing to let me be an idiot?"

"Considering how all of this is very stupid and Gerik is going to be screaming at me? Go ahead." He smiled slightly. "Can't be any worse than Gerik jumping on a wild horse to distract a group of enemy soldiers."

"Eh, we'll see about that." And I had Brynhildr drop. I thought I heard Saleh muffle a curse, but I wasn't sure. While I couldn't blame him, it was also Saleh, who was one of three people I'd never heard curse. The other two being Eirika and Myrrh.

We didn't drop far. It was mostly just to get within bow range. My arm and shoulder practically screamed as I brought up the bow, and my arm shook as I tried to aim. All the worst because I was aiming for a _very_ specific point. The thing might regenerate, and the thing might be able to take a lot of damage, but everything had a weakness. And such a big creature had one large one: its eye. So, I aimed. I aimed carefully, waited until it faced us. And I glared, remembering the story Natasha had told me. Red eyes, take warning, because the Queen-Goddess of Death favored those with red eyes. And I was definitely angry, so…

"Gods, if you plan on helping us through this, now would be a good time to prove it." And I let the arrow sights and sounds washed away for me as I watched that arrow. Wondering if it would hit. Wondering if it would actually _do_ anything. Wondering if this little gamble would do anything but make Brynhildr a target again. Wondering if it could…

Then it hit. And the eye popped, loud enough to hear. And the cyclops screamed. It screamed and screamed, and stumbled about, dropping its axe as it clawed at its ruined eye. As soon as I saw the eye pop, though, Brynhildr was up in the air again, climbing higher and higher until we were back at the altitude, back at where the air still hummed, ready and eager.

"Excalibur!" Saleh snapped his fingers as he called the spell's name, and the wind roared into life. It sparked and swirled into a funnel, almost like a tornado, before descending on the cyclops, who looked up with a half-regenerated eye, just in time to see its death.

When the wind calmed again, the cyclops had been obliterated. Only a far too large bloodstain and the axe showed it had ever existed at all.

"Seems we won the gamble," I whispered. And my ribs throbbed, reminding me that they were hurt. My arm was numb. "For the record, I will take responsibility for the eye thing, but…"

"Everything else is my fault and I'll hear all the lectures." Saleh groaned and rested his head on my shoulder. "I knew Jehannans were insane. They do this all the time."

"I know, right? Soldiers and mercenaries are weird people." It was a testament to how relieved he was, and how tired, that he was being so open. "I'm thinking I fly right to the infirmary for treatment."

"Yes. I'm worried about… well, everything for all three of us."

"We'll take an easy way down, then." I sighed, already imagining Natasha's scolding. "Here we go."

* * *

Saleh and I were confined to the infirmary for two hours, at least. Well, I was confined for two hours. Saleh actually fainted, so he would overnight. I simply had to deal with L'arachel scolding me for being reckless while she pieced together my cracked ribs and _severely_ bruised arm. And the 'herniated disc' in my neck, whatever that actually meant. And my… everything, really. That one blow with the axe had caused a significant amount of damage. Poor Brynhildr actually also had bruised ribs, though Natasha was able to tend to her just fine. But most saddening to me, now that I had a chance to think and not that I was reassured that at least the people I knew had made it through, barely… well, I couldn't help but be sad at the cuts and scratches on Brynhildr's chest. Because, thanks to everything, those cuts and scratches… well, they were caused by her armor _shattering_ , broken far beyond repair. And it had been General Glen's armor. He'd protected Brynhildr and me one last time, and it was just…

"Without that armor, all three of you would've been dead," Cormag noted. He'd wanted to check on Brynhildr himself, and probably see the healing scrapes and cuts. Wyverns healed quickly, so there was no reason to use the charge. Especially when so many were injured still. "He would've been the first to say that was a fair trade."

"Logically, I know that," I whispered, adjusting Brynhildr's blanket. We were overnighting in Taizel, but due to her injuries, Brynhildr would sleep near the infirmary. Just in case. "But it's still…"

"Yeah." Cormag smiled bitterly and petted Brynhildr's nose. "Makes it feel like he's gone-gone."

"I'm sorry. Saleh and I should've…"

"You came up with a plan, and it worked. If the armor is the price we pay for that, then it's a good trade. If a sad one."

"It needed to be replaced anyway." Duessel joined us by Brynhildr or, rather, he joined Cormag by Brynhildr. That I happened to be near was coincidence. "Taizel has a warehouse of army supplies, though, including wyvern armor," Duessel noted. I frowned over how… convenient that was. "We're on the port, Emma. It's not uncommon to move stuff via the sea to avoid having to logistic land travel."

"Okay, that _does_ make sense," I sighed. I finished adjusting the blanket and hopped back. "Well, I'll take a look in the morning and see if any will fit Brynhildr. I think the healers will hurt me if I try to do any sort of 'work'."

"Quite true." Duessel chuckled, shaking his head. "Quite the reckless maneuver. Easy to see how you caught King Ephraim's eye."

"L-look, the Excalibur plan was _all_ Saleh's idea!" I went red, though, and glowered when Cormag snickered. "His idea!"

"And the arrow?"

"Er…" I had no defense for that one. "A-anyway, I'll leave you two! I know Cormag's trying to be all tough and all, but losing siblings sucks, and losing items of theirs _also_ sucks, so I'm going to go now!" And I bolted, wanting to kick myself for how awkward that all was. I really wasn't good when it came to comforting people or anything. I wished I was better, but I was what I was. Sadly.

"Emma, why are you running?" Natasha gave me a weird look as I passed by the building we were using for the infirmary. The blankets draped over her arm hinted she'd left to get more. "You shouldn't be running after such a deep-healing," she chided. I simply looked down, wishing I could just… sink into the ground or something. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just… me being awkward," I sighed. I sulked, annoyed, but softened when she stroked my hair. "Is Joshua still in the infirmary?"

"No, Moulder cleared him. I would've preferred him to rest here, but Joshua reassured me that any work he'll do is light and that he really just plans to relax." Natasha held up the blankets. "Mind helping me?"

"Of course I don't mind." I took the blankets from her and followed her into the infirmary. It was _filled_. But thankfully, most everyone here would likely make a full recovery. "Where do these go?"

"Saleh and Eirika, actually." She smiled kindly. "Since things are calmer, I wanted to change their blankets. Softer ones."

"I'll handle it, then." I kissed her cheek and winked. "And thanks for the excuse~!"

"I figured you'd like one." She laughed and headed into the back, likely to let Moulder know that she was back. L'arachel had been dismissed for the day around the same time I'd been cleared; I'd check on her and Tana later.

Instead, I went to where I knew Saleh had been set up and saw, with amusement, that Saleh and Eirika were set up right next to each other. And, adorably, Ewan and Myrrh were asleep next to Saleh's bed. However, Myrrh did stir when I approached, blinking blearily at me. Then she smiled sleepily and yawned.

"Natasha said that she would get softer blankets for Saleh and Eirika," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She was just too adorable, so I made sure to kiss her head and then kiss Ewan's before changing Saleh's blanket. "Are those it?"

"Yep, and she knew I'd want to check in on them, so here I am," I replied. Myrrh poked Ewan awake briefly to make it easier on me. "What's the official word?"

"He's just exhausted. Shifting the spell's focal point from the tome to an outside point is very draining." Myrrh yawned again, and this time, I noticed she actually had little fangs. "I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

"No one is going to mind." New blanket on Saleh, I brushed the hair out of his face and, after a moment, kissed his forehead. "So, his injuries weren't bad? I kind of accidentally hit him with my hard head."

"Not bad at all. Those were the worst." Myrrh giggled and laid back down. "So sleepy…"

"Then go back to sleep, silly." I went over to Eirika and changed her blankets. Like Saleh, she was completely out, though in her case, it was because of pain. Even with healing, her arms and ribs hurt. "I told her that she needed better armor." I hoped there was something in these warehouses that would be better for her. "But she'll be fine, yes?"

"Yep." Myrrh was already half-asleep again. "Hee… Saleh only got reckless after Eirika got badly hurt."

"Aw, that's cute~!" If something that I wasn't exactly certain should be encouraged. Or something. "Really should have a good talk with him about that. Best friend and all."

"That would be funny… to hear…" And Myrrh was out, peacefully dreaming.

I laughed softly and kissed Eirika's cheek before checking in on some of the others I knew, like Lute and Artur. Lute was asleep, but Artur was actually awake, if a bit incoherent due to pain medications. Still, he reassured me that both of them would be fine, in between the slurring. I tucked both of them in before checking in with Moulder and Natasha in the back to let Natasha know that the blankets were changed. Moulder then gave me 'healer's orders' to go _rest_ , so I winked and left the infirmary, intending on just finding wherever I was spending the night.

However, Innes caught me on the way and started pushing me towards a different place entirely. "He's far too distracted and it is _bothering_ me," he grumbled as he continued nudging. I noticed he was careful to avoid places where I'd been injured. "I can be fair in that I know I'd be distracted if Tana was unconscious in the infirmary, but can you please reassure him or something?"

"I'm assuming the 'he' is Ephraim?" I asked dryly. Innes just nodded. "You two are working now? Really?"

"We lost more soldiers than anticipated, so we have to rework logistics. Seth is getting us numbers." He pushed me into one of the larger houses and to one of the studies. "I know you need rest, but…"

"If you can check on L'arachel for me? I was planning on making sure she was okay." I smiled when Innes left to do just that. "Ha… he is far sweeter than he likes to let on." I thought about knocking, but decided to just walk on in. "Ephraim, you're apparently annoying Innes to the point of him deciding that I'm the magic cure."

"Huh? Emma!" Ephraim stood up abruptly from his desk, nearly knocking his chair over. "How are you?" he asked worriedly, rushing over to me. Banging his leg on the desk in the process. "Ow…"

"Wow, no wonder Innes snagged me," I deadpanned. I smiled teasingly at him, and Ephraim smiled sheepishly in return. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't even need to overnight, though I am ordered to rest."

"Good…" Ephraim gently touched my cheek and rested his forehead against mine. "Sorry. I know I should be focused. But I'd been too far away to help Eirika and then you got hit. And I had thought you two were relatively safe both times…"

"...I'm sorry…" I leaned up and kissed him. "In retrospect, I really should've sent some sort of warning. That cyclops rattled all of us."

"That it did. And now, we need to worry about them being..." He kissed me again, a little more fiercely than typical. I'd really frightened him. "Innes was right. I did need to see at least one of you."

"I should've come straight to you." I smiled at him. "Hey, how long are we staying in Taizel?"

"A couple days. Why?"

"Then how about, in the morning, I make us breakfast and we have a little date?" I giggled and he smiled slightly. "Your pick on the food."

"That does sound nice. I'll make sure I'm free." He kissed my nose, laughing when I squeaked. But I didn't pretend to protest or playfully scowl or anything. "You're just going to rest?"

"Yep. Healer's orders." Since Innes was checking on L'arachel for me, I really just had to check on Tana and Joshua. Neither should take long. "And Eirika _is_ fine. I just saw her. She's just asleep."

"Good." He kissed me one more time and then stepped back. "Okay. I got my daily dose of Emma-Kisses so I should be good to go."

"Y-you did not just say…!" I blushed and desperately tried to hide it automatically. He simply laugh. "Goofball." I rolled my eyes and kissed his cheek. "Remember to sleep, okay?"

"I will." He pulled me into a brief hug. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I lingered a bit longer, not really wanting to be the first to pull away, especially when it was clear how much I'd scared him. But he reassured me that he'd be fine, now, so I left, running into Innes in the process. He'd reassured me that L'arachel was fine, just asleep, and I thanked him for thinking of Ephraim's mental health. Innes immediately tried to play it off, and I played along, just because. However, when I left him to look for Tana and Joshua, Tethys took my hand and dragged me off.

"W-wait!" I yelped, scrambling to keep my balance. Tethys just hummed, wearing a 'perfectly warm' smile. Which told me I was in a _lot of trouble_. "I wanted to find Tana and Joshua! Then I have to rest!"

"Oh, I'm not scolding you," Tethys replied. She continued humming. "That's for the morning. Tonight, you're simply going to rest with us. We had Joshua and Tana as well."

"So, I know my gut is saying to just smile and nod because I definitely know this tone." Monica had the same tone. "But my rebelliousness is wondering why."

"Do you _want_ the lecture now?"

"No."

"Then you'll rest with us."

"Okay."

I actually ended up falling asleep next to Tana in that big room the Jehannans had claimed for their little relaxation thing. There was just something comforting and soothing about the perfume, laughter, stories, and songs. I wasn't sure who draped the blanket over Tana and me, probably Joshua or Gerik, but someone (Tethys) had braided my hair _very_ intricately while I slept. I chose to not protest. At least it was better than things drawn on my face.

* * *

 _No one joined again. Maybe we're just past the point where people join us or something. I have no idea. But it does feel a little weird._

* * *

Author's note: Ephraim's route is surprisingly sparse on plot (and a lot of what's there doesn't quite apply due to how I set things up, whoops). There's technically another scene at the end, but we're saving that for the next chapter. In this chapter, you'd get a Saleh cameo, and a Caellach cameo (as well as the implication that Glen has died by this point over in Eirika's route). You'd also recruit Ewan and Marisa here, hence Marisa's comment about almost being sent to here. In game, there's also Grado soldiers, with the monsters cooperating, but as unnerving as that is, I felt it suited more to have _just_ the monsters. The cyclops being very huge compared to your units (and eating people) comes from Greek Mythology. In game, it wields a handaxe (hence the long range) and a swordslayer (hence the extra damage to Eirika and Joshua in particular; the axe not only reverses the weapon triangle, but deals effective damage against them). That said, they're also not as difficult to defeat in game; I just… added to it. Because you move straight into this chapter, it actually doesn't have an opening text in the game.

Next Chapter - Fluorspar's Oath


	35. Chapter 21) Fluorspar's Oath

Chapter 21) Fluorspar's Oath

* * *

 _We ended up staying longer in Taizel than anticipated. The injuries and losses were too much to simply 'rest and move on' within a day. There's also raiding the warehouses for much needed supplies and cataloguing all of it. Then you had bunches of meetings where the leaders all tried to figure out how to adapt to the unexpected losses, particularly since, ideally, the next battle would be the castle itself. Which meant that I spent a lot of time by myself, sadly. Everyone was just too busy, and it wasn't like I had any major duties._

 _Neimi and I at least have fun coming up with menus. Good food always made things seem better._

* * *

"Ah, so it hooks around here like so…" I mumbled to myself, hanging upside down from Brynhildr's neck to fix a buckle. Brynhildr sighed, and tried to lift her head. "Don't move, sweetie. One slip and I'm landing on my head." Brynhildr crooned and grumbled, as if insulted. "Much as I know you would _try_ to catch me, I must remind you that you have very sharp things on your claws." Brynhildr sighed again, but stilled, accepting the rebuke. "Thank you. I'm almost done. Promise."

She grumbled again, as if to say 'better be', and I returned to fixing the buckle for Brynhildr's new armor. Cormag and I had spent all of yesterday afternoon and evening looking through the warehouse of wyvern armor and supplies and both of us decided to just go all in for it. New saddles, new saddlebags, extras for both, new claw protectors, and, most importantly, new armor. New, stronger, more covering armor. Chest plate, flanks, the part of the back behind the saddle, the head… should be very nice. And I thought Brynhildr would actually like them, once she was used to them. At the moment, though, she was grumbly and irritated at how I'd spent the entire morning putting on and taking off various pieces to make sure she had the absolute best fit.

"Okay, got it!" I pulled myself up so that I was sitting on her neck and then I slid down to the ground, hopping a bit to bleed off momentum. "Now then…" I stepped back, hands on my hips, and studied Brynhildr. And immediately noticed a problem. "I need to ask Cormag if there's a way to dull the shininess." 'Sparkling in the sunshine' might be a great narrative thing, but that was something that would definitely get us killed during a fight. "Well, move about and see if it suits, Brynhildr." Brynhildr sighed gustily and gave me a 'whhhhhyyyyyyyyyy?' look. "Going to remind you that you having proper armor is going to keep us both alive longer. And if we get it right _now_ , then we don't have to go through this again _later_."

She sighed again, but did carefully test the armor, making sure that she could still grab things with her claws, could still fly, that nothing slipped or chafed. She did a couple of sharp turns in the air, a couple of flips, picked up and threw a couple of things into the water. All things she'd do during a battle, more or less. When she was done, she presented me with her right claw, showing where the armor there had slid. I tightened the buckle there and she did everything again. This time, there were no slips or anything.

"Okay, we'll try these all on again tomorrow, with me in armor as well, and if it passes that, then we're good to go~!" I giggled and slowly began getting the armor off. Brynhildr breathed a sigh of relief, wiggling to try and get out a little faster. "Easy, easy, sweetie! Let's not hurt me by accident!" I paused to hug her neck. "You can go on a quick flight once I'm done and then I'll give you a bath, okay? I'm sure you're all itchy because of all the different armor." Brynhildr waited for me to remove the head armor before nuzzling me. "I love you too, sweetie."

When I got it all off, I stepped back and Brynhildr launched herself into the air, going very high before diving to skim the waves. This was exactly why I made sure to have her try on all the armor by the docks, so that she had a short route to the water. Felt like the least I could do, especially as I dragged the 'rejected' pieces off to the side, away from my 'chosen' bits, grimacing at just how many I had. I'd started the fitting after breakfast, and based on the sun, we honestly might be close to lunch. Or even a little past. Lunch was more of a 'whenever' sort of deal, though, since everyone's schedules were so different.

I just finished and stretched when I noticed I wasn't the only one by the docks. Myrrh had apparently wandered near while Brynhildr and I were busy, and now she sat on the edge of the docks, kicking her legs as she looked up at the clouds. She looked so small and lonely that I found myself heading over before I even thought much about it.

"Hey, there," I murmured, sitting next to her. Myrrh glanced at me and smiled shyly. "What brings you out here?"

"I wanted to look at the sky," she explained, returning her attention to it. "It's such a pretty blue." She reached up towards it, smiling softly yet sadly. "And it stretches all the way to the Darkling Woods, where Father is."

"Homesick?"

"A little. I haven't left the Woods in…" Myrrh frowned, thinking. "Almost 800 years. I visited once or twice after the countries were established, but Father encouraged me to not leave."

"Really?"

"Yes. He wanted to spare me the sight of them growing old and dying, while I stayed the same." She looked down at the water, pulling her pigtails to hide her face a bit. "It's just what happens. People are born, and people die. Manaketes like me live for a very, very long time. Humans don't."

"Ah." Never even thought about that, but it was so obvious. She was 1200 years old, and looked twelve. She'd probably live for… quite a long time. "Yeah, it's rough watching someone you love die, and knowing you can't do anything about it." I thought of Monica. I thought of Orson. Both made my heart ache. "Still, he could've let you visit a bit more."

"Latona always got mad at him about it. And Evelyn and Kasimir would sneak out to visit. It was fun." She smiled warmly, giggling, and it occured to me then that she was probably the only… she and her father were probably the only ones who truly remembered the Heroes. Sure, we had legends, but gods, no one really talked about them, especially individually. They were distant beings, not even quite human. But she knew them as they were. It was actually rather fascinating. "I was very lonely when they stopped visiting. For a time, I thought I had done something wrong. Then I realized that they had simply passed away."

"Are there many manaketes in the Woods?"

"Not anymore. Many died and most of the survivors sailed away, to protect themselves and because they thought the continent was lost." Myrrh's smile disappeared. "Humans aren't the only ones the Demon King can enslave, you see."

"Oh?" It took a second to realize what she meant. " _Oh_." That was… uh… "So, shouldn't have to fight anything like that?" The Entombed or whatever they were called were bad enough. Something told me that a reanimated manakete would be _so_ much worse.

"I don't think so, no." She shuddered. "I hope not, at least. I had to watch my parents' corpses almost kill Evelyn."

"I see… wait, hold on." I paused, frowning slightly. "Parents? Plural?"

"Yes?" She frowned too before gasping. "Oh, right! You wouldn't know." She smiled sheepishly. "Father isn't mine by blood. My parents were killed by the Demon King's forces. Evelyn and Kasimir found me shortly afterwards. Father was a good friend of my parents, and so, he raised me afterwards. I didn't want to leave with the last of the manaketes. I wanted to stay here longer."

"I see." I wondered what it was like, living through multiple wars. This single one was going to drive me mad. "So, is homesickness the only reason you're out here?"

"I…" Myrrh hesitated a bit and looked out over the horizon. I did as well, seeing Brynhildr flying about still. "No, I felt like moping a little."

"About?"

"I feel like a burden on everyone." She kicked her feet back and forth and looked down. "If I had my stone, I could've helped with the cyclops. I could've…"

"We'll find this stone of yours in time, Myrrh." I couldn't remember what the hell she was talking about, but I figured reassuring her took priority. "But burden? You've been a great help to us, you know?"

"Have I?"

"Yes. Sensing the monsters and giving us more information… both are absolutely invaluable." I ruffled her hair, smiling at her squeak. "You can focus on the 'if only' stuff all you want, but that'll just make you feel worse. Trust me." I could think of _so many_ 'if only' scenarios. I probably always would. "Instead, you should put your focus on what you can do."

"Like what?"

"Well…" I noticed Brynhildr flying back, having stretched out her wings enough. "At the moment, I need to give Brynhildr a bath, and that's a two person job." I stood up and offered her my hand. "So, why don't you help me?"

"You sure?" Her eyes lit up and she smiled shyly as she took my hand. "Okay, that does sound like fun. Brynhildr is funny. We talk a lot."

"Do you now?" I tugged her along, smiling. I remembered Ephraim mentioning that Myrrh could speak with animals, or at least, speak with wyverns. "What sorts of things does she tell you?"

"Lots of things." She giggled. "Like how she thinks you and Ephraim need to hurry up and have a baby for her to spoil."

"She what?!" My face _burned_. Ephraim and I hadn't even talked about sex, much less…! "Oh, that… that's a little..."

"She also thinks its funny when Ephraim makes you blush and you try to hide it."

"Ugh…" Worse, I knew I was turning as red as my hair. "Basically, she's a gossip."

"Genarog is more gossipy, actually." Myrrh continued giggling. "Brynhildr mostly likes to brag about you. Eirika to a lesser degree."

"At least tell me what she's said about Eirika?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure!"

It was probably the strangest bath I'd ever given Brynhildr, with Myrrh and Brynhildr 'chatting' happily and Myrrh translating for Brynhildr. Still, I had to laugh when Myrrh told me that Brynhildr thought Eirika and Saleh needed to 'do the weird human thing where they press their faces together' already. That was far too amusing.

* * *

Despite the number of days, and the extra supplies from Taizel's warehouses, the infirmary was still filled with injured. Lute and Arthur were the only patients I knew, Eirika had been officially cleared yesterday, and I dropped off some treats for them to share before heading into the back where Natasha was taking a break and mending. Why? Well, partially to make sure the healers had snacks since their eating schedule was _way_ off from the rest of ours, but also because there was an important duty little siblings had called 'teasing the hell out of their older siblings', a duty I took very seriously. And, thus, I insisted on delivering Joshua's love letter myself. Not that he'd put up much of a fight, mind. But still.

"Oh, that man…" Natasha murmured, blushing prettily as she took the letter from me and set her mending to the side. I promptly crouched by her chair, grinning in anticipation as I held onto the basket of food I'd also brought. "I'm sure you already know what it says."

"He had me read it to make sure things sounded okay," I admitted without a bit of shame. I actually found the whole thing adorable. Because of all the injured, Natasha and Joshua hadn't seen each other much, and Natasha had absently joked about love letters while they'd prepared for bed last night. Joshua, of course, took it completely seriously. "Go on! Read it!"

"Oh dear…" She sighed, but smiled as she unfolded the letter. Her blush darkened as she read, but her smile also grew. "Did he have to…?"

"Of course~!" I grinned, finding this all too hilarious. "But hey, at least you're back here alone and there's no one but me to-"

"Emma! Moulder told me you had snacks for us?" And L'arachel swung into the back with perfect timing. "Oh, Natasha, is everything okay?" she asked worriedly, peering at Natasha's very red face. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"Nah, Joshua just wrote her a love letter," I explained, standing to set up the food on the table nearby. It was just some simple dishes, things easy and quick to eat and that could keep for a while. Though I did make sure there were some apple pancakes, for Moulder. "And Joshua went flowery with the wording."

"Oh, how _romantic_ …" L'arachel sighed gustily, smiling happily with her hands on her face. "Is it simply a letter? Is it a poem?"

"Both."

"Both?!" L'arachel squealed in delight and Natasha went even redder, desperately trying to hide it behind the letter. "That is so wondrous!" L'arachel giggled and spun, clapping. "Is it good? You're blushing like it is~!"

"I greatly appreciate it, yes," Natasha replied, trying to maintain dignity. Unfortunately, the blush totally ruined that impression. As soon as I was done setting out the food, I returned to Natasha's side and hugged her. "I swear he made sure to nearly kill me with embarrassment, though."

"That's part of the charm of a love letter, though!" L'arachel giggled. She was practically skipping, though she did detour to snatch some food. "Are you going to write a reply, Natasha?"

"W-well, I…"

"I will totally deliver and tell you the reaction!" I immediately offered. This was far too much fun. "I'll be heading back to help him anyway."

"You are?" L'arachel asked, sounding surprised. She also had crumbs on her face, from eating some cookies too quickly. "Hey, Emma?"

"Hmm?"

"Why is it that you help Joshua and not Ephraim?"

"Ephraim's got Seth and Eirika." I frowned at her sulk. "What?"

"I believe I should have words with Ephraim." L'arachel sulked even more. "Work is important and all, but a king must _properly_ court his love and not be so bogged down by work that he neglects his lady."

"I'm fine, though?" I sighed, already seeing the gears turning in her head. She wasn't going to listen to me at all. "Oh dear." I focused on Natasha again, kissing her cheek. "Come on! Write a reply! L'arachel and I will help!"

"Oh, yes!" Well, that got her attention. "It shall be glorious!"

It took a little bit more coaxing, but Natasha did eventually agree to write a reply. L'arachel and I had a lot of fun suggesting phrases and the like, and even Moulder joined in on the fun when he ducked back for his own break. Natasha about near fainted from blushing so much, but she finished writing it, and handed it off to me with a silly and warm smile. I kissed her cheek, hugged L'arachel and Moulder, and skipped out of the infirmary, probably far too cheerful. Certainly, I got quite a few weird looks as I walked down the road to the house Joshua used, but I didn't care. This was _far_ to entertaining.

"Brother, I've returned~!" I announced, skipping inside the room Joshua appropriated for his study. I grinned and saluted, with the letter, when I saw Gerik was there too, frowning over something with Joshua at the desk. "Sorry, is this super serious or can I tease?"

" _Nothing_ is so serious that you can't tease," Gerik immediately replied, straightening. He grinned and nodded at the letter. "What is that, though?"

"Reply from Natasha!" I happily dropped it in front of Joshua and immediately went to sorting through his reports. Joshua immediately opened it up to read, smiling goofily. "He wrote a love letter, you see."

"Oh, don't let Tethys know." Gerik groaned. "She'll demand one out of me and I'm _awkward_ with letters."

"It's the feeling, not the words, that are important!"

"So, should I tell King Ephraim to write you one?"

"Eh?" I went bright red at the thought. "No way! That doesn't suit someone like me! But it _would_ suit Tethys!"

"What do I have to bribe you with?"

"Weeeeeell…~"

"I'm so pleased it went well," Joshua murmured, cutting off the banter. He smiled innocently at my sulk, and laughed at Gerik's sigh of relief. "Hey, what was her reaction, petal?"

"Disbelief that you really did it, blushing madly, blushing more because L'arachel came in afterwards…" I rattled off with a giggle. I swung around the desk to hug him. "Very fun. Thank you for letting me play messenger."

"You're quite welcome. Who's idea was it for her to write a reply?"

"L'arachel, but I quickly joined in." I kissed his head and leaned over his shoulder. "So, what are you and Gerik frowning over?"

"We got a couple of Jehannans who might be crippled thanks to the cyclops fight." Joshua set the letter to the side and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Which… well…"

"Oh…" Crippled mercenaries often starved if they weren't lucky. "How many?"

"Thankfully, very few, and they're in a grey area at the moment," Gerik answered, crossing his arms. His dark eyes, though, hinted that at least one was an 'all-but-confirmed'. "Even with things changing, Jehannans will probably always be mercenaries."

"So, basically, Gerik and I are trying to figure out a good way to help compensate," Joshua explained, leaning back in his chair. I kissed his head again and went back to organizing the papers. "But it's a bit of a mess because of everything else that's been going on."

"Thankfully, the rains should help with the food problem, but yeah, it's going to be rough trying to rebuild. If we even get the chance." Gerik grimaced. "That cyclops really hurt us. Another one like that…" He suddenly frowned and looked to the door. "Who the hell would be running here?"

"Oh, gods, what happened now?" Joshua groaned and I frowned in confusion. I didn't hear anything. "If there was a fight or something, I swear I-"

"Pardon me!" Saleh suddenly swung in, noticeably harried and worried. Gerik immediately went to his side, and I wondered what the hell happened to make _him_ so… un-stoic. "Have any of you seen Lady Myrrh?" he asked breathlessly. Joshua got up and got Saleh some water while Gerik resting a hand on Saleh's shoulder. "No one has seen her all day."

"Well, I saw her this morning," I replied slowly, setting the papers down. This… this wasn't good. "We talked a bit, she helped me bath Brynhildr, and we ate lunch together. Afterwards, I went to make food for the healers, and she went off on her own." A bad feeling washed over me. She'd mentioned feeling like a 'burden'... she wouldn't have done something risky to try and offset that, would she? "No one has seen her since?"

"No, no one." Saleh accepted the water from Joshua and downed the glass in one gulp, coughing a bit. "And I've been searching for her for over an hour."

"...Let me help out." I couldn't shake this bad feeling at all. And I felt horribly guilty. I should've kept her close. "Maybe she's stuck in a tree again."

"I hope it's so simple."

"We'll all help," Gerik reassured, squeezing Saleh's shoulder. He frowned and glanced out the window. "I've a bad feeling about this." Oh. Great. Not just me. "So, let's find her quick."

While I knew it was an exaggeration, it did feel like most of the camp was looking for Myrrh. And we were looking _everywhere._ I helped Ephraim look through some of the warehouses, and kissed his cheek to reassure him when we didn't find her. Eirika and I both hunted through the nearby woods, just in case she got lost, and I hugged her when we found nothing. I kept close to Saleh as we ran along the water's edge, worried that she might've fallen into the water, and I patted his back when there was nothing. Eventually, Tana snagged me to coordinate an aerial search, and so, I ran to where Brynhildr was supposed to be resting, by the water. Curiously, though, she wasn't actually resting. Instead, she was sitting by her new armor, pointedly nudging them towards me as soon as I got close, and not the least bit… well, she was worried, but not frantic.

"You know we're looking for Myrrh, yes?" I asked her, wondering why she wasn't more worried. She nodded and nosed the armor again. "Wait, do you know where she is?" Brynhildr looked out, towards the east. "That way? But why would…" I facepalmed, realizing it. "She went off on her own, and you've been waiting for me to come by here to chase her." Brynhildr nodded. "Why the hell would she…?" I growled to myself, and shook my head. It didn't matter. She had. So… "For someone older than the damn countries, she can sure be stupid sometimes." I sighed and petted Brynhildr's nose. "I'm getting my armor and weapons. Just in case. Knowing our luck, we'll get into an ambush."

Gods, what a headache. She really was the equivalent of a twelve year old.

* * *

While I was getting my armor and weapons, I informed the others that Brynhildr thought Myrrh went east, for currently unknown reasons. Vanessa, Tana, Cormag, and I split up then, acting as scouts to try and narrow down 'which east' she went while everyone else prepared to move. I let Brynhildr pick the path, trusting her completely, but I winced when I noticed the land below slowly turn into marshlands. The area we'd hoped to avoid. And then I flinched again, because I could see Grado soldiers milling about. Why the hell were they in the marsh? Had they thought we would try to circumvent their patrols by coming through here?

"They don't look like they're waiting for anyone, though," I murmured, laying low over Brynhildr's neck. None had looked up yet, but if they did, I hoped we'd just look like some patrolling Grado soldier. Easier if they couldn't see my distinctive hair. "They look like they're searching for something?" Brynhildr growled in agreement. "We should probably turn back and get someone, Brynhildr. I went along with going 'alone' because I didn't think we'd run into so many soldiers." A patrol, at worst. But this was a damn army. "So, let's…" Brynhildr shook her head and kept on flying. "Brynhildr, sweetie, I love you, but everyone will literally kill us. We've been doing relatively well when it comes to reckless things. It would be nice to keep that up." I paused, remembering the cyclops battle. That had been a long string of 'reckless things'. "When it comes to doing reckless things on our own, I mean." And that was when I saw Myrrh. In the middle of these Grado soldiers. And was near one in particular with blonde hair I was sure I recognized. "Never mind. Drop."

Brynhildr growled in agreement and arced around before dropping. She landed hard, water splashing up from the wind and force, and stretched herself out to emphasize her large build to loom over Selena. I unbuckled myself and swung out of the saddle, bow and arrow in hand as I snatched Myrrh by the shoulder and pulled her behind me protectively. I was prepared to attack, but Selena didn't. In fact, she didn't even seem armed.

"Emma?" Myrrh gasped. I kept my attention on Selena, and didn't look at her. Selena just blinked slowly, clutching some gem I could barely see. "What are you…?"

"Looking for you, silly," I replied. I nudged her closer to Brynhildr, intending on just getting the hell out of here. "You are getting _so_ many lectures for going off on your own, by the way. That's the sort of reckless thing Ephraim and I do."

"I'm sorry." Myrrh gripped the edge of my skirt. "I…"

"Later." I narrowed my eyes, wondering why Selena wasn't doing anything. The only bit of movement was her waving away concerned soldiers. "The hell are you doing?"

"Goodness, you're glaring like you're expecting me to suddenly turn into a monster," Selena sighed. She then smiled bitterly. "Your priority seems to be Myrrh, so I don't see why they should attack."

"Well, I'm looking at a woman who knowingly swallows her morals to blindly follow her dead or corrupted emperor, trusting the walking corpse even when sense should scream otherwise," I retorted very, _very_ dryly. I tightened my grip on my bow, but I did keep the arrow… not quite on the string. Attacking here wouldn't be smart. With all the soldiers, I'd be dead in a heartbeat. "Besides, given the monsters who 'greeted' us in Taizel, I don't think expecting monsters among your forces is too much of a stretch."

"Monsters in Taizel?" Selena seemed startled by that. "That can't… why would they…?" She frowned, glancing down. "There were soldiers stationed there."

"Well, maybe the cyclops ate them." I was so irritated, and I just got more and more irritated at how saddened she looked. "You're fighting for the person who's allowing that, you know. Who's allowing Valter to fly about."

"I…" Selena winced, but then her gaze hardened. "I am a knight. I will not-"

"I know knights. My father was one. We've got a bunch in the army. And not a single one is blindly loyal like you." Some part of me wondered if she irritated me so much because she used 'being a knight' as her excuse. "You know; I constantly hear of how 'nice' you are, and I hear of nice things you've done, but I've only seen one bit of it." Myrrh tugged on my sleeve, but a quick glance showed she was more hiding behind me, so I kept on talking. "And, even then, it was paying 'mercenaries' to deal with bandits, because the crown said for you to return and you didn't even want to delay one extra second to kill bandits terrorizing innocent people. Even though you had magic and probably could've incinerated them in twenty seconds."

"Well, I could just kill you."

"Yeah, and, while we're on things you could've done, you could've just killed Myrrh." I rolled my eyes, scoffing. "You want a prize for basic decency? A prize for being better than Valter? Please. You don't get 'niceness points' for the absolute minimum." I did start nudging Myrrh even closer to Brynhildr, and Brynhildr growled, warning Selena to keep her distance, despite Selena not moving. The worst was that she narrowed her eyes. "That said, I do thank you for not being him and we'll just be going-"

"General Selena!" a soldier called then. Selena glanced over at them, but otherwise kept her focus on me. "Enemy army sighted!"

"Prepare, then," Selena ordered, before looking at me. After a moment, she smiled. "Smart to call for reinforcements."

"Sure, we'll go with that," I replied dryly. I had no idea why the _army_ was here. My best guess was that someone had seen Brynhildr drop and put two and two together. "Also going to inform you that we'll make poor hostages."

"You do seem like the type to kill yourself first." Selena sighed, shaking her head. "In that case, why don't we simply part peacefully?"

"I can agree to that, I suppose." Carefully, I tried to lift Myrrh onto Brynhildr, but Myrrh shook her head. "Myrrh? This is a-"

"No, it's not that," Myrrh murmured. She looked at Selena pleadingly. "My stone… please return it to me."

"...I apologize, Myrrh," Selena replied slowly. She put her hand in her pocket. "But if you want your stone, you'll have to win it back. I was tasked with retrieving this, and I vowed never again to fail in my duty to His Majesty."

"But I told you!" Myrrh shook her head again, looking ready to cry. I got her on Brynhildr and climbed on behind her and began strapping myself in. "I told you what was going on! He's-!"

"Go quickly! This place will soon run red!"

"Wait!"

Unfortunately for Myrrh, neither Selena nor Brynhildr waited. As soon as I finished with the straps, Brynhildr was up in the air, focused on getting out of arrow range as quickly as possible. Below, Selena shouted orders, and shouted something about the 'glory of Grado'. I sincerely wondered what 'glory' she meant. I really did.

"Well, that was fun," I muttered when Brynhildr stopped ascending. Everyone was very tiny below. "Gods, she's so using duty as a coping mechanism." Freaking reminded me of Orson. Clutching to something to stay 'sane', while actually being driven mad. Ignoring all sense and reason and morals so long as you had that comfort. "Ugh…"

"Why is she doing this?" Myrrh whispered sadly. She still looked ready to cry. "Her heart is screaming."

"Good. It means she's not numb yet." I frowned at her and poked her forehead. "And you, missy, are going to get _quite_ the scolding later for going off on your own like this. You're lucky Valter wasn't the one who got you."

"I'm sorry…" She looked at me pleadingly. "Can we please not fight her?"

"Unfortunately, that became unavoidable as soon as our army showed up. And I'm wondering why the hell they did, because I sure as hell didn't tell them. Officially, Brynhildr and I were scouting." I kissed her hair and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you have to fight good people?" She tugged on my sleeve, looking so sad and so confused. "Her face was so happy when she talked about her emperor."

"When it comes to wars between people, this sort of things just happens." I wondered why this startled her so much, but then I remembered that the last human conflict she experienced was when she was the equivalent of a four-year-old and it was against the Demon King and those who allied with him. That conflict… well, it probably wasn't as 'black and white' as the legends liked saying, because nothing was, but it had probably been as close as possible. Especially for a 'four-year-old'. "This is exactly why I dislike fighting so much."

"...I hate war."

"I do too."

Myrrh curled into me and I hugged her as Brynhildr made her way to the army. Where we'd join the battle. A battle we weren't really prepared for. At all. Gods damn it all.

* * *

I didn't get a chance to ask why, exactly, the army had mobilized and how they'd caught up. I barely had time to drop Myrrh off before I was dragged off by Cormag to begin covering the army. Because this was a marsh, and while movement wasn't as limited as, say, the desert… there was a lot of water. There were areas that were just impassable. If you didn't walk on the path, you ran the risk of getting stuck in the mud. And the paths were very winding, meaning almost every soldier was _constantly_ within range of magical attacks. This wasn't a good situation at all. This was not an ideal battle scenario. And there was no real way to escape at this point. We'd be massacred. We were running the risk as it was.

"Hey, how are you holding up, Eirika?" I asked, flying near and trying to not wince at her 'armor'. Her old armor had been crushed along with her ribs by the cyclops, so she was making due with some hodge-podge thing she'd scavenged. She'd expected a little more time to pick out proper armor. "You pulled out your sword?"

"It's easier to kill mages with a weapon," Eirika pointed out tiredly, setting her tome on her saddle and tossing Sieglinde to her other hand to roll her wrist. She nudged her horse a little closer to me to briefly lean into Brynhildr's side. Her complexion was… it looked rather grey under all the blood and sweat. "I'm holding up well enough, all things considered. This place is madness."

"At least it's not muggy?"

"True. Last time I was here, it was _horribly_ muggy. With bugs and everything." She shuddered, shaking her head. "We didn't put on any insect balm. This is just the worst."

"No joke." I winced as some thunder magic suddenly crackled along the water and electrocuted some soldiers not far away. "I am so tired of her fucking bolting."

"It would be much better if _we_ had siege tomes, but we don't." Eirika sighed and pulled her horse further from the water before she leaned into me again. "How long have we been fighting?"

"I have no idea." I ran my hand through her hair, noting the tangles. "You should probably fall back and get checked, Eirika."

"Do I look as bad as I feel?"

"You're as gorgeous as always, but you also look like that 'stew' Ross and Ewan tried to make yesterday."

"That thick grey mess? Yuck, I do look as bad as I feel then." She grimaced. "That said, the healers are overwhelmed. Bunches of burns and paralysis, among the more typical blade and arrow wounds."

"So find Lute, Saleh, Artur, or L'arachel?" I glanced around and pointed to where I saw Lute electrocuting some Grado soldiers. "They have healing, but don't work in the infirmary."

"That does seem like a good compromise." She smiled sweetly, if tiredly. "I'll go do that, and then I'll let someone know that I need to be farther back in formation. You be careful, okay?"

"As careful as I can." I leaned down and kissed her head. "Okay, back to the skies."

Brynhildr made a point to nuzzle Eirika before taking off, just in time for me to shoot two wyvern knights out of the sky. I absently noted how I was a _lot_ better at archery nowadays, needing only one or two arrows to manage a kill. But that didn't mean I was 'invincible'. For one thing, I had to keep an eye on my arrow supply. For another, bows weren't good for close combat, so the enemy wyvern knights would do their best to dart in close. Of course, they quickly learned that Brynhildr didn't take kindly to that. At all.

"Gods above, did she just _throw_ them?" Tana asked as she flew close, just after Brynhildr grabbed an enemy wyvern and… well… threw wyvern and rider into the ground. I wondered why she was near briefly, since she had been in another area, but then I noticed the wounds on her side, bleeding sluggishly. "Can I borrow some medicine?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied, already undoing my gauntlet to get some. Seriously, switching to medicines was the best decision I had ever made. "You doing okay?"

"More or less." She smiled in thanks as she accepted the vial and quickly got the medicine on the worst of her injuries. "It's strangely a relief to be fighting humans, even if… oh, hell, down!"

"Gods _damn_ that Bolting!" I had to duck even with Brynhildr dropping, and then shoot a wyvern knight that almost caught us both. "Where the hell is she anyway?"

"Set up somewhere in the center, giving her a range over most of the battlefield." She handed me the empty vial and proceeded to tie some bandages over the injuries, and her shirt for convenience. "Thanks."

"No problem." I tucked the empty vial into my pack. "What got you?"

"Wyvern claw. And it would've been the teeth if not for Cormag shouting a warning." Tana smiled bitterly. "It's so sad, watching him fight. There's just so much…"

"Just keep on smiling for him." That was, sadly, all we _could_ do.

"I offered for him to join Frelia's knights when all of this is over, but he's just… his faith is so rattled. I just…" She sighed. "Well, not thoughts for such a chaotic… oh, hell."

Brynhildr and Achaeus reacted before I could process why Tana would be cursing, so they managed to dodge the giant fireball that threatened to engulf us. I shot the mage as Brynhildr arced away, and glanced over at Tana. Tana smiled and waved, before flying off, returning to her 'area' of the skies. I waved back before looking around. Seeing no enemy fliers near me, I focused on sniping some mages, and making my slow way towards the 'center' of the battlefield. It wasn't hard to find. It was easily the most chaotic part of the battle, with bodies and blood all over the place. Parts of the river were actually dammed and overflowing due to all the corpses, actually. I wondered if any were people I knew. I wouldn't know until _way_ later. I hated that, more than anything.

"General Selena!" And Ephraim was making a great big target of himself by yelling. My day just got ever so much better. "I know you've spoken with Myrrh!" he continued, edging his horse as close to the water's edge as he could. I facepalmed, wondering why, just _why_ , Ephraim and Eirika constantly did things like this. "Surely, you know Vigarde isn't rational!"

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to talk to my directly, King Ephraim," Selena replied cooly, riding out of the chaos to at least address him directly. She held her tome loosely in her hand, the appearance of a nonchalant… something. "Yes, I know. But I am a general. His Majesty's orders are law."

"Even if he is deranged?" Ephraim shook his head. "This is absolute madness."

"Yes, it is. Foolish as well, likely." Selena shrugged. "But I am a knight. I have no other path to walk." Oh, please.

"That's nonsense! Please, surrender and withdraw. There is no need to die for Vigarde in his state!"

"Me? Die? You're mistaken, King Ephraim." Selena snapped the tome open, lightning crackling on the pages. "I have no intention of dying. Madness though it may be, I will be the one doing the killing today." Well, she'd already done a number on us already. "I think that's enough of a break, yes?"

She gestured sharply. Magic crackled and sparked. I felt my heart stop when the Bolting hit Ephraim, and I nearly screamed when I saw his armor shatter. But Ephraim's expression went from surprise to utter _glee_ , even as the shards cut him. Like the thunder invigorated him. And, as he had his horse jump the river and he attacked Selena directly, I remembered what he had said about how he _enjoyed_ risking his life. That it was something he needed to be careful about. And, considering he jumped straight into enemy lines, alone… well, it was a relief, to me at least, when I saw Seth join Ephraim quickly, followed by Forde and Kyle. Even more so when Ephraim fell back a bit. Still, I was rattled enough that I didn't actually notice Brynhildr had been descending until I was literally right next to Ephraim.

I stared at him blankly for a moment, but when he glanced over at me curiously, I unbuckled myself so that I could swing my leg over the saddle. Then I leaned down to grab his face and kiss him soundly. "I love you," I murmured against his lips, barely pulling away to say the words. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied breathlessly before kissing me back, gently and sweetly. "I had to try. Myrrh asked." He pulled away and smiled bitterly. "Seems words won't stop her. At least, mine won't."

"That is so not what sparked this." I kissed him again, a tad desperately. " _Please_ go get some replacement armor? For my sake?"

"...Ah." He winced and reached up to his neck, where there was some fresh blood. "I'm sorry."

"Just remember that if you die, I will be _horribly_ mad at you." I smiled a bit, to try and make a joke. "Making Eirika cry is a fast way to earn my anger, you know?"

"I do, indeed." He moved his hand to briefly grasp mine and smiled. "Maybe consider it payback for the heart attacks you've given me?"

"I will accept that, so long as you continue surviving. As I have." I pulled away and buckled myself back in. This was… more than a little embarrassing now that I could think past the desperation. "Seriously. Armor. Get. Now. Please."

"As soon as I can safely fall back. I'll let Seth know my plan."

"Give Eirika a hug or something while you're at it. She's beyond exhausted."

"I'm not surprised. We've had a few horses drop dead. Along with their riders." Ephraim sighed. "This is not the best of battle situations. But you…"

"Need to get back to the air to cover. I know." I smiled and laughed sheepishly. "Brynhildr came down without me saying anything. For the record."

"That so?" Ephraim scratched Brynhildr under the chin, where she didn't wear armor, and she actually crooned. "Thank you. I'm glad to see her, since her smile rejuvenates my spirit."

"H-how can you say that with a straight face?!" I went bright red and he laughed. "Oh, whatever. I'm heading back up."

He continued laughing as I left, but I didn't stay blushing for long. Things were much too chaotic for me to be squirming over cheesy things that my boyfriend says. Too many fireballs and arrows to dodge. Along with wyvern knights to shoot down. And mages to snipe. And whoever else I could shoot. I actually ran out of arrows and had to rely on Brynhildr while I scavenged some from below. Colm actually ended up throwing me a nearly full quiver, carrying a second one as he left without waiting for thanks. Neimi must've run out of arrows as well. I made a point to look for her and wave when Brynhildr and I were back in the air. She waved back before returning to her job, keeping up with Franz and Amelia and trying to take out mages. Her riding had greatly improved; I could tell that easily.

"There you are." Duessel's voice caught my attention, mostly because it was surprisingly calm, especially considering all the screams and shouts from the fighting. I glanced down curiously and saw he and Selena were across the river from each other, not unlike how Ephraim and Selena had been earlier. "Well met, Selena," Duessel greeted, nodding. While he held a lance, it was down by his side. Relaxed. "Smart move to be so center."

"Well, I did learn tactics from you, Duessel," Selena replied. Unlike with Ephraim, she seemed saddened, yet friendly. Her tome was firmly shut. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"I called you a traitor, but I knew that was the furthest thing from the truth." She smiled bitterly and she shook her head. "Your loyalty never wavered for an instance. It doesn't even now."

"No, it doesn't." Duessel studied her for a moment, before closing his eyes. "You have no intention of withdrawing."

"No, I do not." Selena brought up her tome, but didn't open it. "So, let's not waste anymore words. I am grateful for everything, Duessel, but I will walk this path with no regrets."

"...Then I shall walk the one I have also chosen with pride." Duessel's expression hardened, hiding pain. I ground my teeth, just irritated. Gods, she was as selfish as Orson. No regards for the people around her, so long as she… "Farewell, Selena."

"Farewell, Duessel."

The two parted, apparently deciding that getting things over with wasn't the thing to do or something. I watched Duessel, noting how rigidly he sat, continuing to hide his own misgivings. Selena, for her part, went right on back to her Bolting, killing a bunch of our soldiers by utilizing the water. I winced and looked away, and saw Cormag nearby. He smiled thinly when he saw me, looking half-ready to cry. But he continued fighting with a fervor, killing Grado soldiers. Soldiers he probably personally knew. This… this wasn't right. This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Cormag had to lose so much just because he decided to follow his morals. It wasn't fair that Duessel had to. And I didn't _care_ that the world wasn't fair. I knew what it was like to lose everything, for your world to fall apart because of things outside your control.

This just pissed me off.

Anger making me cold, I looked down again and sighted Selena, who was in an open area in the middle of the chaos, probably to make sure she didn't accidentally shock her own troops. She wasn't looking my way. She wasn't looking up. Like most mages, she wore little armor. And a thought wormed its way into my head, one I couldn't dismiss. So, I lined up a shot, aimed carefully. I debated, wondering if I should even try this, but then I saw Cormag in the distance, wincing as a Grado soldier fell. I saw Duessel fighting below, as stoic as a statue to hide his own pain. I thought of how sad Myrrh had been. I thought of all the praise she'd been given. I thought of Orson…

I loosed the arrow. It hit her straight in the back. And then I had Brynhildr drop down to land right next to her, using her bulk to knock Selena clear off her horse.

As soon as Selena went flying, I unbuckled myself and swung off the saddle, rushing over to her with bow and arrow in hand. Brynhildr growled and lashed about, killing soldiers trying to attack me as I approached Selena. She'd landed _hard_ on the ground, and soft and muddy as the ground might be, she still landed badly. One wrist looked broken, and she couldn't move one of her legs, but she tried to reach her fallen tome with her not-as-injured hand. However, I was faster, so I kicked it away, into the water, and aimed the arrow at her head.

"...Go ahead…" she murmured, laughing softly. She coughed up a bit of blood and smiled bitterly, even as she closed her eyes. "I'm… so very tired… so, go ahead…"

"So, you give up then?" I asked, just as softly. Brynhildr loomed over us, wings spread out to shield me from the nearby soldiers. I wasn't sure if they'd noticed just what had happened yet. Or if they could free themselves up to try and do something about it. "All that boasting, and now you give up?" She didn't answer. Just waited. "Well, no complaining." And I shot the arrow so that it thudded into the ground _next_ to her head. Cut her cheek with it even. "Right then."

"...Wha…?" Selena opened her eyes and tried to say more, but she hissed in pain as I crouched down and pulled her up onto my back. "What are you…?"

"Shut up. You gave up. You lost." I shifted her a bit higher on my back and awkwardly held onto my bow. Brynhildr growled in confusion. "I know; I know. Make sure no one kills us, please."

"You can't be serious…"

"Shut up. You gave me your life." Brynhildr laid down so that I could climb on while still carrying Selena. No one attacked me, thankfully, probably because they couldn't guarantee not hitting Selena. "You don't get to argue anymore."

Selena tried to escape, but the pain was too much. She actually fainted when Brynhildr took off. When Brynhildr landed again, back with the infirmary, I dismounted and carried Selena in, calling to Natasha. However, Natasha wasn't the one who greeted me. It was Myrrh, smiling happily. I smiled back and then followed Natasha's directions to get Selena set up safely among the other wounded.

We'd see what would happen, I supposed.

* * *

With Selena defeated, the rest of her soldiers surrendered. The nearby villagers were surprisingly kind, possibly because we didn't kill Selena, and they gladly helped us set up a camp just outside the marsh. Of course, I didn't really pay attention to most of that. I'd spent quite a bit of time helping out in the infirmary before being ordered to sit by Selena while she was unconscious. She had her own tent, mostly because we weren't certain if someone would try to assassinate her in her sleep. Or something. I stopped listening after a while and, instead, simply used the time to plan out dinner for the day until Selena finally woke up. Because I was far too tired for this. Why did I do this to myself?

"Ugh…" she groaned, slowly coming to consciousness. She blinked slowly, raising a hand to her eyes, frowning. "Where…? Wha…?"

"Evening," I greeted, waving to catch her attention. She continued blinking slowly, too groggy to comprehend things yet. "You are in our camp, as a prisoner. I am your current keeper, though someone will take over before long, hopefully. Officially, you are my responsibility for the time being, so if you cause trouble, I will have Brynhildr sit on you."

"You are…"

"Emma." I frowned, hoping she wasn't suddenly amnesiac. That would be convenient, and irritating. "So, for the record, you have a broken wrist and broken hip, are severely bruised, and you've the more typical wounds. Including the one in your back, because they had to cut the arrow out. All of which are still there to lessen the chances of you attacking us." I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. She simply stared. "You get all of that, or should I repeat it?"

"No, I understood." She looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. Of course, the place was sparse. Just her cot and my chair. "My pack?"

"It's with Cormag. Figured you wouldn't mind if he held onto it." I shrugged. "As for where he is? He's asleep." Healer's orders on that one. He'd barely managed to find me long enough to hug me before going to pass out. "Duessel is handling your soldiers for you."

"I see…" She looked at me again. "Why…?"

"Why…? Oh, why are your clothes different?" I made my tone as innocent as possible, pretending to misunderstand. "You're wearing some of mine, actually. Turns out we're about the same height. Who would've thought, right?"

"You know that's not what I meant." She made sure to look me in the eye, with some semblance of authority. The lost look in her eyes, though, damaged that 'authority'. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"Well, a few reasons, I suppose." I brushed my hair behind my ear, fussing with the strands that escaped my braid. "For one thing, you piss me off and you wanted to die. So, I purposely did the opposite thing. To be spiteful." I crossed my arms again, sighing. "For another, you remind me of my brother-in-law. Clinging to some source of comfort and completely ignoring how everyone else has to watch you go mad and betray yourself." Orson… I missed him. My heart ached at the memory. "Which leads into reason number three. Duessel and Cormag have lost a lot already. _Especially_ Cormag. And, let me tell you, being the only one to survive _sucks_." I shrugged then, just… I had no idea. I had no idea what to feel. "Then there's reason four. Myrrh didn't want you to die. And she's a sweetheart who rarely asks for anything."

"...I expected that first one, but only that one." She laughed hollowly. "You really don't like me."

"I don't see what everyone sees in you. And that's reason five." I made sure to look her right in the eye. "I want to see the person Duessel raised. The person Cormag calls 'sister'. The knight the people love. The person Vigarde named 'general'. I want to meet _that_ person. Not the shell you are right now." I glowered a little, back to being irritated. "We'll see if you're capable of being her again, I suppose."

"And abandon my oath?" She smiled bitterly. "I swore…"

"What's failing in your duty, though? Is it not listening to his husk? Or is it doing things you know would've broken his heart?" I shrugged. "You're alive. I'd think a bit more about the answer to that, if I were you." Selena didn't reply to that, and so, silence reigned. Thankfully, however, it didn't last long.

"Lass?" Gerik walked into the tent, smiling slightly. "I'm next for watching our very important prisoner," he explained. I smiled in relief and stood, brushing off my skirt. Selena just closed her eyes, sighing. "You're wanted in the main tent."

"Really?" I asked, frowning. I wondered why. I'd already given my 'report' about Selena. "Got it. I'll let someone know she woke up on the way."

"Have fun, lass."

"I'll try." I jumped up and kissed his cheek as I left, and he laughed softly as the tent flap fluttered shut behind me. "Okay. Here we go."

I checked on Cormag on the way to the infirmary tent, finding him still completely passed out. I adjusted his blanket and kissed his forehead before continuing on to the infirmary. It took a moment to find Moulder in the mess to let him know that Selena was awake, and a moment more for L'arachel to free herself up enough to go check on Selena. While I was there, I noticed Saleh among the healers, working with Lute and Artur, and I figured out right then just why I was asked to go to the main tent. Or, at least, I had a damn good idea.

"Oh, Emma, there you are." Eirika met me as I walked out of the infirmary, smiling tiredly. "I went to get you, but Gerik said you were heading here," she explained. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Selena just woke up, so I was letting the healers know," I replied, falling in step with her. The camp was quiet, everyone recovering from the battle. Dinner would be quiet tonight. Well, relatively quiet. "So, I'm guessing I've been asked to be Myrrh's shield? I saw Saleh helping out."

"Yes. Innes is very mad at her, so we definitely don't want to even have a 'quick' talk without someone she feels safe to hide behind." Which was… understandable. Myrrh did go off on her own, and we got involved in this battle because of it. "Saleh had hoped he'd be done, but…"

"There are _way_ too many injured." I sighed, but decided to try and look on the brighter side of things. "Well, we did 'remove' a Grado general! That's one less we'll fight in the capital!"

"That's true." She giggled, muffling the sound as we got close to the Main Tent. "I'm glad she's alive. If only for Duessel and Cormag."

"Yeah…" I, however, sighed and crossed my arms. "I don't know if I did the right thing with her." I also wasn't sure I did it for the 'right' reasons. "She's super lost."

"People always are when their world falls apart." Eirika smiled sadly. "I don't think it was the wrong choice, at least. It's certainly what I would've done."

"That's an extra reason why I'm-"

"Hey!" She sulked and I snickered. "Mean!"

"Too easy." I pulled her into a one-armed hug, and she rolled her eyes. "Well, it happened. Just have to deal with it, right?"

"At this point, definitely." We reached the tent and Eirika opened the flap for me. "We're here."

We stepped into the main tent, and almost immediately, someone grabbed my hand. I smiled down at Myrrh, and she smiled back shyly, half-hiding behind me. Then I looked around and stood next to Joshua, who kissed my head in greeting. Eirika stood next to Ephraim, across from Innes, and based on Innes's grumpy look, Eirika and I probably should've gotten here 'sooner'. Oh well.

"So, Selena is awake," I announced to everyone. Ephraim and Myrrh both smiled, but Innes frowned. "I take it you disagree with my taking her prisoner instead of killing her?"

"He's just being grouchy," Joshua answered before Innes could. Innes continued scowling, and I looked around, noting that there were no chairs or anything. Just us standing in a weird circle. "How is she?"

"Very confused. Very lost. Probably in a lot of pain." I shrugged. "I'm probably not the person she'll open up to. I shot her, after all."

"True." Joshua absently began braiding his hair. "So, what's the movement plan? We're off our original path."

"Well, we're through the worst of the marsh by this point," Ephraim explained. He smiled slightly. "It's a matter of getting back to the main road and, coincidentally, we'll be close to Duessel's estate. It's purposely off the main road, so Duessel doesn't think there will be any enemies. Ideally, we can rest and resupply there before pressing on to the capital."

"And we can recuperate after the unexpected battle," Innes grumbled, glowering at Myrrh. Myrrh fully hid behind me. "What were you thinking? Going off on-"

"Innes." Ephraim shot him a warning look. "We talked about this already."

"Yes, and I agreed that she won't face punishment, since she's not a soldier." Innes glared at Ephraim, annoyed. I felt a bit outrage at Myrrh being 'punished', but I did acknowledge that if she _had_ been a soldier, such a thing might've been necessary for discipline. "But such recklessness is-"

"I have a sneaking suspicion, Innes, that Myrrh is well aware of the dangers and the like, far more so than you," Eirika pointed out dryly, crossing her arms. She even gave him a droll look. "She's older than everyone in the army."

"I… I'm sorry…" Myrrh murmured, poking her head out from behind me. She looked ready to cry. "I… I sensed my Dragonstone…" She pulled out a beautiful, and strangely ordinary, blue gem from a pouch on her belt. "So, I wanted to get it. So that I could help more."

"Oh, Myrrh, you're plenty of help." Eirika smiled gently at her. "Silly."

"I wanted to help _more_ though. And I wanted… I wanted it back. It keeps me safe."

"What can a stone do?" Innes asked dryly, with his ever-present scowl. Myrrh squeaked and hid behind me. "Well?"

"Innes, we really need to work on your people skills," Joshua sighed. He stepped closer to me so that Myrrh could hide a little easier. "You're not getting information out of allies via scaring them."

"That's…"

"However, Myrrh, if you don't mind explaining a bit more?" Joshua turned to smile at her. "I'm rather curious myself."

"W-well…" Myrrh began, peeking out from behind me again. I squeezed her hand reassuringly, and smiled when she glanced up at me. "I-it lets me use my power s-safely, you see. Lets me transform into my dragon form."

"Dragon form?"

"Think Brynhildr and Genarog. But a bit bigger." She tucked her stone away and hid behind me again. "More defensive as well. It can be hard to move quickly, but..."

"Something tells me that we'll need to see it in order to really understand."

"Probably… I'm sorry."

"No, don't fret, Myrrh," Ephraim reassured. He smiled kindly and Myrrh smiled back. "I'm glad you finally got it back. I know you've been worried."

"And now that we've learned about the stone, and gotten why Myrrh left, I think we're done for the day," Eirika gently, but firmly, declared. Innes frowned, but Ephraim and Joshua nodded, so Innes simply closed his eyes. "We're all exhausted. It's been a long day. Trying to figure out anything else is probably going to be counterproductive."

"Quite true. I mostly just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page, and learn from Myrrh how we ended up in this situation." Ephraim nodded. "So, let's just head wherever."

It wasn't the most eloquent of 'dismissals', but it worked well enough. Eirika took Myrrh's hand and led her out, no doubt to take her to Saleh, or to wait for him together. Joshua snagged Innes by the shoulder and whispered something as he dragged him along. I made to follow, but Ephraim hugged me from behind, keeping me there instead. Joshua's little wink over his shoulder, just before the tent flap fluttered shut, hinted he'd made sure of that on purpose.

"Still can't believe you managed to get Selena," he murmured, kissing the back of my neck. I flushed badly, smiling a little goofily. "I didn't think it would be possible."

"I literally just shot and ambushed her," I reminded dryly. It wasn't exactly the most 'heroic' of things. "We'll have to see what she does in the coming days."

"That we will." Ephraim sighed. "We'll also find the answers to all of our questions. Hopefully, anyway. I'd like it if we can solve all of this with storming the capital."

"And then you can have some awkward talks with Lyon, yes?" I turned to face him and, after a moment, kissed him. "That said, it's been a long day and I think I'd like to just cuddle with my boyfriend for a little bit. Especially since he scared me so very badly earlier." I smirked. "Do you think you can schedule selfish me in?"

"I think I can manage that." He smiled warmly and kissed me sweetly. "And after that, there's actually a couple of scenarios I want to run by you."

"Really?" I gave him a skeptical look. "Why me?"

"Because I value your insight." He kissed me again, and my mind went a little fuzzy. "And L'arachel scolded me for not taking advantage of said insight more often." He kissed me yet again. "So?"

"Yeah, sure." I was honestly going to agree to just about anything at this point. "Just kiss me again."

"I can manage that."

We ended up kissing for quite a while, and feigned total innocence when Seth swung by to check in on Ephraim. I don't think he bought it, though he did politely pretend to, for our dignity. But neither of us regretted it. Or, at least, I didn't. He was getting _much_ better at kissing, after all.

* * *

 _Again, no one joined. I mean; I'm assuming Selena isn't going to join us, at least. So, no one. This just feels weird._

* * *

Author's note: So, fun fact, full disclosure, when I started this chapter, I actually had no idea what I was going to do with Selena. So, apologies if you don't like her surviving, but it felt 'best' with how the chapter flowed.

The conversations Selena has with Ephraim and Duessel trigger once you move them close enough to Selena (they are NOT boss banter stuff). Her mentioning that she's 'very tired' comes from her death quote (and leads to many theorizing that Selena was pulling a suicide by army). On this map, you'd recruit Gerik and Tethys if you were playing Ephraim's Route (sent via Innes). If you visit the eastern village, the villager there begs you to not kill Selena, hence why I had them be friendly. Myrrh's comment about looking at the sky is based off of her Heroes dialogue. Tana mentions that she finds Cormag's fighting 'sad' in her A support, and her offer for him to serve in Frelia comes from that same support.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Estate


	36. Interlude - Estate

Interlude - Estate

* * *

 _Surprisingly, especially considering it was us, the best case scenario was what happened. We made it to Duessel's estate with minimal fuss, and there were no soldiers save for Duessel's own, who had escape the capital to take refuge here and welcomed us with smiles. As warm of smiles as the ones the servants gave us, who quickly and efficiently had us all bundled up in warm clothes and everything before we could even blink. It was weird. I honestly wondered how we'd pay for such a stroke of luck. But, for now, it's resting and gathering information. We have a straight shot to Grado's capital, Lekikya. If we secure victory there, then the war with Grado would be over. But that is only going to be the beginning of our troubles if the Demon King…_

 _Yeah, we were going to pay for the good luck. And I had a very bad feeling about it._

* * *

I breathed in and out, settling my thoughts. I focused on my 'wish', that my friends would make it through this war alive and functioning, and then I slowly expanding that 'wish' to include things that I knew they wanted. With each added 'growth', my mind calmed and my breath steadied. The ever-present weight of the war and all that we had to accomplish lightened, and when I opened my eyes, finished with the Valega, feeling calm and centered. Then Brynhildr leaned around to nuzzle my face, finishing up getting me into the perfect mood.

"You're just the sweetest," I giggled, leaning back against her. She folded her wing over me to protect me from the sun, and giving her version of a hug. "Yeah, staying here was definitely the best decision."

We were outside, somewhere in the rolling lands behind Duessel's honestly massive estate. Seriously, you could easily fit four houses into the building alone, not even going into the stables and garden and salle and… other places I didn't know the technical terms for. It seemed horribly large for one man, even if there were many servants to tend to the place. It made me wonder if Duessel had a large family, and was now just the last one surviving, but I wasn't sure how to ask that. I supposed I could be blunt, but that seemed a little too personal.

Regardless, though, the estate was beautiful, with the buildings made of dark wood and shining-white stone, and the lands carefully tended to. There was plenty of space for everyone to run around and have their own space. And there were so many servants that all of us were being spoiled, especially the mounts. They needed advice for how to tend to the pegasi, but they learned with smiles and laughter, making it all just fun.

And speaking of fun and laughter, from where I was, sitting with Brynhildr, I could see something that I hadn't seen in a very long while. People in our army _playing_. Neimi, Amelia, Franz, Forde, Ewan, Ross, Lute, Artur, Tana, Dozla… they were all rushing around with soldiers I didn't know, playing tag and laughing brightly. Not far away, I saw Duessel, Garcia, Gilliam, Seth, Moulder, and Gerrik enjoying a drink while they watched the others wear themselves out. It was so bizarre to see, really. The last time I really recalled seeing anyone _playing_ was in Jehanna, before we learned of Carlyle's betrayal. Sure, we had fun at different points afterwards, but just taking time to enjoy some games? I only recalled that village in Jehanna, before the ruins and the sandstorm. So, it was bizarre to see it.

And that wasn't even going into what would happen over the next few days. Slowly, we were making preparations to attack and fight Vigarde head on. And when we did… when we got there… we would learn the truth. We would finally learn what had happened to Vigarde. A man going mad? A man being corrupted? A corpse being puppeted? Something else we didn't consider because it was so outside our realm of possibility? We would get the answer to that.

Then, of course, there was finding Lyon. And thinking past the emotional and personal things, there was negotiating the end of the war and reparations. Figuring out the Demon King and the like. Deciding what to do. Maybe even make a trip to Myrrh's father to ask if there was a way to replace the broken stones? I had no idea. It all depended on what happened, I supposed. It all depended on what we found out. And, given our sudden stroke of good luck, I was _terrified_ that things were going to be horrible. Because that's how it always seemed to work.

"Emma?" Myrrh's shy voice weaved through my thoughts, and I looked up to see her standing by Brynhildr's head, absently petting her nose. "Um… do you mind coming with me?" she asked with a small smile. "Innes wanted to see my dragon form, and… well, Saleh is there, but Innes can be scary even though I know he is a good person… and Ephraim and Eirika and Joshua are also there, but so is L'arachel, and she is sweet, but loud and-"

"There's no need to give me an explanation, silly," I chided, already standing. Brynhildr nuzzled both of us before taking to the air, returning to the patch of land set aside for the wyverns to nap and spread their wings. "Of course I'll be there." I took her hand and she beamed at me. "Should we fetch Tana?"

"Tana wanted to stay with the army to get a better feel for morale and the like. Because she's so approachable, she's better suited for it than anyone else among the royals. Even Joshua."

"I see." That did make sense. I only had to look at how she played tag with the rest without anyone showing the slightest bit of hesitation to see that. "In that case, where are we heading?"

"A bit off to the side, where there is a large area, and no one to accidentally fire an arrow at me. Hopefully."

On that lovely note, Myrrh led me to an open area, where Ephraim, Eirika, Innes, Joshua, L'arachel, and Saleh were all standing on the edge, Saleh being noticeably apart from the others. I ruffled Myrrh's hair to reassure her and gave hugs and kisses where applicable to everyone before going to stand by Saleh, while Myrrh went to the center of the area (which might've been a meadow actually) to gather up her nerve for her transformation. Or whatever it was.

"Why is it that you came by me?" Saleh asked me quietly. Thankfully, he had made a full recovery from using Excalibur as he had, though I had heard he was still on rest, since he had pushed himself dreadfully during the fight with Selena's forces. "Typically, you stay near King Joshua, King Ephraim, or Eirika."

"One, it provides a single convenient spot for Myrrh to run and hide if she gets overwhelmed," I explained, smiling slightly. Myrrh held her dragonstone between her hands, biting her lip. Poor girl was terribly nervous… "Two, non-royals should stick together."

"You will not be a non-royal for much longer." He nodded to Ephraim for emphasis and I tried, and failed, to not blush. And instantly thought of a way to retaliate. "So…"

"And what about you?" I smirked when his expression locked up. "You and I need to have a good long talk, methinks. After all, Eirika is my best friend."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Myrrh does~" I giggled, and Saleh just looked away. "Relax, relax. It's not going to be _bad_ or anything. Just something like if you make her cry, I will feed you to Brynhildr."

"Wyverns do not _eat_ people." His face was actually turning a very faint pink, and this was absolutely hilarious. "I know this."

"She'll make an exception for those who make Eirika upset." I shrugged. "By the way, Brynhildr thinks you and Eirika need to go ahead and kiss." And Saleh choked on a yelp, coughing. I winked when the others glanced at us in confusion. "I'm just teasing Saleh and it's working better than I expected. Don't mind us." Eirika frowned a bit, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and began walking towards us, no doubt to interrogate me.

However, the wind suddenly picked up and all of our attention centered on Myrrh. A bright light flashed from the stone and she began to glow with a faint green-white light. She floated in the air, just enough so that the tips of her feet barely brushed the grass, and concentrated, eyes closed. Then there was another flash, and Myrrh's eyes opened, revealing that her eyes had changed color, from red to bright green, and that her pupils had changed, from the more-human circle to a more-reptilian slit. Then there was a third flash of light, and Myrrh's wings wrapped around her like a cacoon. The wings shimmered with that green-white light from before and slowly unfurled again, lengthening and growing. But the wings were no longer 'attached' to a small girl. Instead, they were attached to some giant… reptile… thing with golden scales that matched the wings. Black claws, matching the spikes on the wings, dug into the dirt and a long tail whipped around, accidentally striking a tree and knocking it over without a second's pause. The eyes were the same bright-green, slit-pupil that Myrrh's had been just before the wings enveloped her.

'Think Brynhildr but bigger' she had said. I'd been imagining just a _little_ bigger. Not, you know, something with the wingspan of a house! Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. Maybe. But she was big enough that I was certain Brynhildr could fly on her. And that she could pick up a horse in each claw, no problem.

" _Does it make more sense now?"_ Myrrh's voice echoed through my head, sounding distant, but otherwise the same. " _I am a manakete, a dragon. This is my draconic form."_ No sound. Just silence as we all stared. " _Umm…"_

"I believe you made your point quite clear, Lady Myrrh," Saleh replied, with some amusement. He was the only one not surprised, probably because he'd seen it before. "Perhaps you might give them a moment."

" _Oh… okay…"_

Of course, no one really knew how to react. I saw Ephraim open and close his mouth a few times, no doubt trying to comprehend how this giant being that could probably kill us on accident was also the sweet little girl he saved. Joshua seemed incredulously amused, and I could practically hear him say 'well, I can admit that I actually have not seen anything like this'. Even L'arachel was silent, gaping open-mouthed and half clinging to a stoic and tense Innes. Eirika, amusingly, was holding onto Saleh, frozen.

However, after a moment, my curiosity got the better of me and… well, it was just yet another weird thing to deal with. So I walked closer to Myrrh, careful to avoid the claws, and poked her in the side. She was as warm as Brynhildr, but the scales were harder, not giving nearly as much. Interesting, truly, and I looked up to study her wings. Then I shrugged and actually climbed onto her back to look more closely at them. Because what was impulse control and sense?

"Emma, I do believe most people do not climb onto a dragon within five minutes of seeing the true form," Saleh noted with a touch of dryness. I had a feeling he was exasperated. "In fact, I'm not sure people climb onto a dragon at all."

"Meh, big dragon or little girl, Myrrh is Myrrh," I replied, sitting by the wing joint. The muscle underneath was much more developed than Brynhildr's, probably because it had to lift such a larger bulk. "And Myrrh can tell me to get the hell off if she wants." I paused, thinking. "Well, not 'the hell' off. Myrrh doesn't curse. But still. Myrrh, if you're uncomfortable, tell me. I just wanted a better look at the wing."

" _Oh, no, you're fine_ ," Myrrh reassured. There was a bit of happiness in her voice, like she was glad that someone, at least, got close. " _You're really light, actually. I barely noticed."_

"I bet." I leaned forward a bit, frowning. The wings were massive and very much like a wyverns, but I saw one key different that made me worry. The membrane between the ridges was thin, much thinner than on Brynhildr's wings. With the sunlight shining down, they almost seemed transparent, and I could see the little veins and arteries branching through. "Hey, Myrrh?"

" _Yes?"_

"Do you have a problem with arrows like other fliers?"

" _Yes and no."_ Myrrh shifted under me, and I felt all the muscles bunched and move, very reminded that Myrrh could literally crush me right now. " _My wings are very much the weakest point, but between my size and my power, I can normally deal with arrows. Or will once I remember how to use utilize my strength. It has been a while."_ There was a bit of a 'gasp', and I could easily imagine her startled look. " _Oh, but I can fight well still. In fact, the fire I breath is also particularly effective against monsters, just like the Sacred Twins."_ Something told me that wasn't a coincidence. I'd ask later if I remembered. " _Though, um…"_

"Hmm?"

" _I'd like to transform back, so…"_

"Getting off now." I jumped down and took a few large steps back. Myrrh's form glowed again, surrounded by light, and shrunk down until she was back to looking like a little girl with wings, though with a more exhilarated look on her face than normal. I supposed having something so vital to her back did that. "Um… so, um…"

"I no longer have qualms fielding a child," Innes finally deadpanned. That made the rest of us start laughing, though I saw L'arachel wince. "Mostly. I am going to assume that you cannot suffer that much damage."

"When compared to Lord Morva, no, Lady Myrrh cannot," Saleh confirmed. Myrrh smiled shyly and ducked behind me. "I do ask that we be careful."

"I am _always_ careful." Innes almost sounded insulted, but L'arachel kicked his leg, so he nodded. "But I get your meaning, I believe." He smiled very slightly, and looked to Ephraim, who seemed a bit more conflicted, but resolute. "This will be interesting."

Well, it seemed like Myrrh would get her wish. I just hoped she could hold up under the whole 'killing' thing, because war wasn't… it wasn't kind. So, I worried. But Myrrh, at least, seemed happy, skipping over to Saleh and Eirika with a smile. That would be enough, I suppose.

* * *

Duessel had insistent, strongly, on people replacing their weapons and their armor, and even if we thought about refusing… well, his servants all-but-stole old weapons and armor. I ended up with a brand new lance before I could even blink twice, and a new quiver for my saddle. Thankfully, I managed to stop them from taking my armor, since I loved it so and it was _perfectly fine_. Just needed a bit of mending which… the servants did happily before I even finished the sentence. It was almost ridiculous how eager they were to help out.

Regardless, though, it resulted in Eirika and Ephraim getting replacement armor. And they were… interesting? Ephraim's was very blue, he apparently finally decided that the cape should go under the shoulder guard things. It had the 'fade to gray' parts like his previous, but they didn't look as off due to the blue used and because the cape he had being a similar blue-purple-gray on the outside, with the inside a rich red. Eirika's was somewhat similar to her previous one, though with far more blatant wing imagery, including a wing ornament on her belt and little wings above her knee guards. She had a cape very similar to her previous one, and a ribbon tied behind her waist that was very long and had tassels on the end, like a tapestry.

End result? Me doing my best to not laugh at them and failing miserably.

"I suppose royals have to focus on looks?" I finally suggested, voice wobbling from holding back laughter. I'd already had to sit down on Ephraim's bed because I couldn't focus on both standing and not laughing. Even then, I swore I'd cracked two ribs already. "They look very impressive." Which they did. I just severely wondered on the _practicality_.

"That sounds like a backhanded compliment," Eirika retorted, huffing a bit. Ephraim snickered, smiling in amusement. "Suppose it's my fault. I don't know what I was expecting when I asked you to look at the new armor with Ephraim and me."

"Neither do I!" And I lost the battle with my laughter, laughing hard enough that I fell on my side. "They do look good at least?"

"Rawr." Eirika sulked and I just laughed harder. Ephraim continued snickering. "Oh, wait, by the logic of 'being royals', you should also have fancy armor." She smirked when I blushed, and she laughed when she noticed Ephraim was blushing too. "Actually, that is a fun thought…"

"No way. I am half-Jehannan and I shall stick to my Jehannan armor, thank you very much!" I pointed to the wing ornaments. "Besides, my armor would have to take into account aerodynamics or whatever the word is. I would lose very critical speed with those bits slowing me down."

" _I_ think you're just trying to talk your way out of it." She crossed her arms and pretended to be mad for all of a second before giggling. "Hey, speaking of flying, where is Myrrh?"

"Last that I checked, she and Saleh were talking with Moulder and Natasha about her health and things that are normal for her and not?" I nudged Ephraim with my foot, and he nodded, confirming that. "She's got a different baseline for 'normal body temperature' among other things."

"Ah, I see. And L'arachel isn't…" Eirika gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh, shoot, I was supposed to show L'arachel and Tana." And ran for the door. "Emma, we're having dinner together, right?"

"Last I heard?"

"I'll see you then!" And she left, shutting the door behind her. That was…

"It is _hilarious_ when she forgets stuff," Ephraim laughed, amused. He began taking off his armor, and I simply sat on the bed, enjoy the impromptu 'show'. "I thought the new armor was better than the old, personally."

"Well, the coloring makes more sense, as does the cape," I teased. I would never really understand why their armor was so flashy, but it was certainly fun to joke about it. "And it _does_ look nice."

"Always important to look good for my dearest love."

"I… you…" I blushed, and growled under my breath, irritated that he could make me blush so damn easily. All the more when he laughed. So, I tried to think of some way to get revenge, and came up on one pretty quickly. "You know; I think this is the first time I've ever been in your room at… any of the places we've stayed at." I looked around, noticing it was rather simple, all things considered. Ephraim kept most of his stuff packed up. "Is it similar or different than your room in Renais?"

"I could tell you, but I'm sure you'll see it before long." And he just got me right on back, though he did blush. He tried to hide it by putting up his armor, but I still saw it. "Um… because well… um…" He went even redder, but he turned back to face me. "It might… be yours too…?"

"Oh." And I was back to blushing badly. All the worse because that was the third comment about marriage today. "Um… what are you thoughts, actually?" The words felt like mush, and I couldn't look at him at all if I had any hope of actually saying them. And the question filled me with so much nervous energy that I had to stand up. "On marriage? Do you have any?"

"I've a lot. I've thought of it quite a bit." He walked over and caressed my cheek, smiling at me. "And I think the first step is… well, a proper courting."

"Proper courting?" I gave him a skeptical look, even though my face was _burning_. But it was fine because he was blushing too. "We better not be talking poems or love letters."

"Fun as it might be, I have no intention of inflicting bad poetry on you. And I'm sure I'm bad at it." He laughed and I did have to smile. "No, just… well, a lot of time and funds needs to be spent in fixing Renais. Weddings are time-consuming and expensive, royal ones even more so."

"That is true…" I remembered Monica and Orson's wedding. It had taken forever to prepare, and even though I had loved every second of it… "Proper funerals and memorials, reconstructing villages, training new knights…"

"Exactly. And then there's…" He hesitated a bit before kissing me, a tad desperately. "I want… I want you to be certain you'll be comfortable, Emma. In the court. As queen."

"Ephraim…" I had to smile, touched that he would think of that. That he would know me well enough to know that was a _sacrifice_ I was making. "Well, becoming queen isn't something I would've chosen exactly. I like my quiet." Before he could say anything, though, I leaned up to kiss him, lingering when I pulled away. "However, I decided that I would likely be happy, because I would be with you." I smiled warmly at him, laughing when he just stared at me in wonder. "So long as that remains true, you don't have to worry about be going anywhere. I do appreciate you considering that, though."

"Well, I..." He tried to say something, but eventually gave up and pulled me close, clinging tightly. I returned the hug with all my strength, just to emphasize my words. "I will do everything I can to make sure you are happy, Emma. And to ensure that Renais prospers and feels a happiness akin to what I am feeling right now."

"And you never take fights you cannot win, yes?"

"Precisely." He pulled away just enough so that he could kiss me. "Besides, how can I lose? I've got you to prod me when I'm being stupid."

"That _is_ true." I jumped up to kiss him, but in the enthusiasm, I accidentally knocked him over and I… uh… ended up pinning him to the bed. "Whoops?"

"...Well, this is a view I can get used to?" Ephraim laughed, smiling softly at me. I had to smile back. "Hey, I don't have any meetings for once. Not until the evening, at least. Do you have any plans?" I shook my head, now grinning. "Then, I'd like to spend the afternoon with you. That okay?"

I answered him with a kiss. I figured that was good enough to convey my feelings on the matter.

* * *

After dinner with Eirika, I decide to swing by Selena's room, just to check in. I didn't plan on going inside or talking or anything. I just wanted to see how she was doing, with my own eyes, instead of just asking people. I was the one who spared her, so I did feel some, minor, responsibility for her recovery. Most of the time, someone was sitting with her, basically doing a suicide-watch, so I rarely stayed long. I did find myself lingering a bit this time, though. Mostly because Cormag was with her and, from my understanding, this would be the first time Cormag had visited her since the battle.

"I find it so strange that you were the one that…" Selena was saying. She was laying down, probably because of her broken hip, but she was actually smiling. Cormag, meanwhile, was folding clothes. "You told Glen to keep his head down and to follow orders."

"Pretty sure that was closer to the beginning of this," Cormag countered, sorting through the clothes on the table. He held up a pink dress, frowning. "I thought you hated pink."

"Duessel said that it was my punishment. I had to endure one piece of pink clothing."

"That does sound like him. Eat your vegetables, wear a color you're not fond of…" Cormag laughed, and it was the warmest I had heard in weeks. "He always gives weird punishments."

"Yet strangely effective."

"That's also true." He hung up the dress and then went back to folding. "But, at the time, I had hoped there was some reason to it all. I still had faith. And I tried to hold onto it, even as our country slowly became corrupted."

"It has changed so much and…" Selena trailed off, frowning. "Prince Lyon is terribly ill."

"He's always been frail."

"Yes, but he's been coughing so much, hard enough that I'm surprised he didn't cough up blood. And sometimes, his mood would swing this way and that. Almost like he became a different person. It worries me." She sighed. From where I was by the door, I grimaced. That didn't sound good… "It worries me more because the only skilled healer in the capital now is Riev. Who I swear is…"

"You know; if you had said _that_ instead of being stubborn, I'm about ninety percent certain everyone would've just let you go." Cormag gave her a look. "However, your pride kicked in."

"So it did. And now, I don't know what to do. The emperor I swore loyalty to is gone, apparently, and the prince I adore is suffering when I can do nothing." She fell silent, and Cormag didn't answer, just kept on folding clothes. "Cormag?"

"Yes?"

"When you and I last talked, we spoke about what 'loyalty' meant."

"I think we more yelled, but yeah, I suppose we did." Cormag attempted to smile, but it was more of a grimace. "I decided it meant living up to someone's ideals. But who knows what I would've thought if things… hadn't happened the way they did."

"How did you even end up with them?"

"Glen died, I lost it, found their army, Genarog lost it, and Tana managed just enough reason for me to second-guess everything."

"Tana… Princess Tana?" Selena laughed, and it was surprisingly warm. "That's the sweet girl who always manages to get you to smile, no matter how much you try to fight it, yes?"

"I… well…" Cormag narrowed his eyes. "You're leading into something."

"You're quite adorable around her. That's all."

"That… you…" Cormag sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea what I feel, but I do know that I am, by no means, stable enough to even consider romance. Much less a potential romance with a royal princess."

"Maybe after Valter is taken care of?" Selena used her elbow to push herself to the side a little, just enough so that she could reach and grab his hand. "Regardless, I do understand. Just don't close off the possibility, especially if you can be happy."

"Selena…"

"If I am being forced to live and recover, I am going to shove you down the same path." She smiled at him. "That's what big sisters are supposed to do, yes?"

"And apparently worry their little brothers about putting too much pressure on _broken_ _bones_." Cormag rolled his eyes and helped her settle back in the middle of the bed. "I should be grateful you're not trying to walk around."

"I did try, but I was stopped."

"Good!"

The two bantered back and forth, but I stepped back to not eavesdrop anymore. I did linger near, but that was mostly because I wanted to process what I'd overheard. And, for the first time, I began to understand why Selena was well liked. Just a little. But that little was enough to make me feel better about sparing her. Just a little.

"Huh? Emma?" Cormag stepped out of the room, and of course, I was right there in the middle of the hallway, so he saw me immediately. "What are you doing here?" he asked softly, shutting the door behind him. "Did you want to visit Selena? She just fell asleep, but…"

"No, I was just spying to see how she was recovering," I answered, smiling slightly. I was pretty certain I was the absolute last person Selena wanted to see. "Is it safe to leave her alone?"

"She's serious about recovering. I know everyone else worries, but I know her."

"In that case, I yield to you." That did make me feel better, though. "So, how is it that you got to fold clothes? Duessel's servants always seem to jump on things."

"They know me, and I told them I needed to do _something_ while talking to Selena. They handed me the laundry."

"I see." I giggled, amused. "So, are his servants normally so eager to assist? They've nearly stampeded us a couple of times."

"They're normally _bored_. Duessel has no blood relatives, so he lives here alone. When, you know, he's not with the army or the royal family." Cormag laughed, amused. I wondered how many times he'd stayed here in the past, to know them so well. "So, yes, guests are normally swarmed. They love having something to do. Doesn't help that a lot of them have served in the family for generations."

"I think I get it." It was nice to take it easy, but too long, and you just got stir-crazy. "They can be a little over-eager though."

"You sometimes have to put your foot down. Easier than it sounds, I promise." He continued laughing before quieting, shaking his head. "But this is conveniently. I haven't thanked you yet."

"For…?"

"Sparing Selena." He smiled brightly at me, the brightest smile I thought I had ever seen him wear. "Thank you, for sparing her."

"Think you should thank the healers for saving her." And now I felt embarrassed. "I saved her for-"

"I know exactly why, because Selena told me what you told her." He smiled smugly and I sighed. Damn it all. "You were going to play it off as just selfish reasons. You always do."

"Yeah, well… um…" I had no reply to that. So I just changed the subject entirely. "So, next battle. Are you going to be okay?"

"About laying siege to the castle of the people I swore my loyalty to?" His voice went very dry, and I grimaced a little. "Never better."

"Not… not quite what I meant." More like I just went to the first thing I'd thought of, but I could bullshit my way through this. Hopefully. "There's a chance Valter will be there, right?" I made sure to look him in the eye. "So? Are you going to be okay?"

"There is…" Cormag trailed off, and there was a very long silence. "I… might need help. Making sure I don't go…"

"I'll watch you." I knew that was what he was asking. He was worried he'd lose his temper, just like before. "If nothing else, we can find a convenient body of water to jump into."

"Well, there _is_ a moat." He laughed, and I couldn't help but join in. "Ah, anyway, I need to go see Duessel. He wanted to talk to me about a lance."

"I'll talk to you later then." I smiled and waved him goodbye as he left, before biting my lip, confused. Why would Duessel want to talk about a lance? But then I remembered the cursed lance Duessel kept and realized that had to be it. But I… I wasn't sure I liked Cormag knowing about it. It wasn't my choice or my business, but it still made me uncomfortable. Almost like… almost like Duessel was making sure to tell Cormag in case he died in the coming fight… or… something…

"Petal?" Joshua called suddenly, startling me. "Hey, you okay?" He frowned a bit and leaned down to peer at my face. "Got a pinched look to you."

"...Just some bad feelings is all, brother," I murmured. It wasn't a lie, thankfully. "So, is it just me or does anyone else think that this isn't…?"

"Oh, great, I was hoping it was just _me_." Joshua grimaced and I winced. Not good… "Mind helping me double check the current plans?"

"Of course." I just hoped Lyon would be okay. He had seemed so ghost-like, last time, and then there was what Selena had said… "Let's try and minimize everything we can expect."

"That way, it's the unexpected that kicks us in the ass." He kissed my cheek and started walking down the hall, and I followed him easily. "Answers in a few days. Can't wait."

This was going to be bad.

* * *

Author's notes: Bit of a break chapter after the last couple of chapters, and before the next one. Ephraim's armor is based off of his Legendary art, while Eirika's is based off her Gleipnir!Alt. Duessel shows Cormag the cursed lance in their A support.

Next Chapter - Father and Son


	37. Chapter 22) Father and Son

Chapter 22) Father and Son

* * *

 _After resting in Duessel's estates, we march on Lekikya itself. Selena remains behind at the estate, as well as other Grado soldiers who cannot bring themselves to attack their beloved capital. The rest fall into our ranks, and swear themselves to the cause. Today, we would end this war. Today, we would learn what happened._

 _I just hoped… it was a truth we could actually bear._

* * *

Unlike with Zada and Ivroria, we didn't have anyone sneak into Lekikya. No, instead, we rode up as obvious as possible and then sent Seth as a messenger, asking Vigarde to surrender. Why Seth? Besides being one of the most recognizable people in the army, if things went wrong, we were all certain Seth could fight his way out with minimal support. Why send a messenger and not be sneaky? I was told the reason was because we were a very large army and Vigarde already knew we were coming. I wasn't sure why that meant we couldn't send people ahead to mess with things and tilt the odds in our favor, but the decision was made and acted upon before I even knew about it, so all I could do was quietly wonder why.

"It doesn't look like the city has changed much," Eirika murmured. Because we had to wait for Seth to return, everyone was in 'alert-relaxation' where we were all prepared but we were doing our best to not burn too much energy. As a result, I ended up with Eirika and Ephraim at the edge of our camp, sitting on the grass and staring at the city. "It looks like it did when we were last here."

"And how it looked every time we visited," Ephraim agreed quietly. He was brushing and braiding my hair, mostly because he needed something to occupy his hands. And it wasn't like my hair didn't need a good brushing anyway. "Almost feels like we could walk on up and…"

"And Lyon would be in the courtyard, waiting for us. Vigarde would be nearby with a small, soft smile." Eirika smiled fondly, giggling a bit. "And then we'd run around causing all sorts of trouble as we caught up."

"And then it was straight to lessons." Ephraim laughed. "Studying the lance with Duessel… history with Lyon…"

"You getting yelled at by Father McGregor."

"Hey!" He huffed while Eirika snickered. I simply smiled, not quite sure what to say or do in this sort of situation. "Never imagined that we'd come here armed for battle."

"Same here…" Eirika's cheer faded. "I hope Lyon knows that we…"

"We'll tell him. Among all the other things we have to tell him."

"Of course."

"Oh, I didn't think people would be here…" We glanced over, and saw Myrrh and Saleh had joined us. I teasingly poked Eirika when I noticed how she immediately got a dopey little smile on her face at the sight of Saleh, and she made a face at me. "I'm sorry to interrupt," Myrrh mumbled, looking down. Saleh rested a hand on her back. "I wanted to see the city."

"You're not bothering us," Eirika reassured, waving them over. After a moment, both did join us, though they didn't sit. "We're just looking at the city too. Did you want to get a view of the potential battlefield?"

"No, but…" Myrrh looked to Ephraim, who was almost done braid my hair, based on where his hands were against my back. I couldn't really look to check. "Um… are you certain you don't want me to fight? I can..."

"Innes and I want to keep you and your power hidden for a while longer, until we know a bit more about what's going on," Ephraim explained. He draped the finished braid over my shoulder and kissed my temple before turning to actually look at Myrrh. "If a cyclops is fielded, we'll be counting on you, and if we get overwhelmed, we'll be counting on you."

"Basically, you're our winning ace, Myrrh," I added, standing up so that I could pull her into a hug. I knew how much she wanted to help. "And you're officially one of the guards for the infirmary, so if the infirmary gets in danger, we're counting on you to protect the healers and the injured."

"Exactly." Ephraim grinned. "Besides, we don't know if this battle will head _inside_ the castle or not, and… well, many of Grado's buildings are big to let in wyverns, but…"

"Oh, right," Myrrh mumbled. She blushed a bit in embarrassment, but smiled shyly. "Okay. I understand." She nodded a bit, and then looked over to the city, her eyes narrowed. "...I was right, Saleh. It _is_ there. A broad pit of darkness, waiting to drag people deep into its abyss… it's there in that castle. I'm certain of it."

"Then perhaps we really will get some answers at last," Saleh murmured, frowning a bit. He brought up his hand, and a flicker of magic danced around his fingers. "The air here is heavy with lingering power. Some great ritual was performed here, something equal to the ceremony that blessed the Sacred Stones."

"Really?" Eirika asked, looking intrigued. And worried. "Will it interfere with anyone's magic?"

"It shouldn't. But it does make the elemental spirits afraid, and that does not speak well for what happened here." Saleh shook his head, and returned to his normal stoic expression. "I fear that the answers we seek will not be ones easy to hear."

"But we'll have them, and then we'll know how to proceed."

"That is an admirable way of viewing it, Eirika." Saleh smiled slightly at her, and Eirika beamed back. Myrrh, Ephraim, and I all shared knowing looks; Ephraim and I then smirked, while Myrrh giggled. "Regardless, you three were busy, so...

"Whoops! Myrrh, Emma, need you to move!" We both immediately moved at the warning, with me nearly falling on my ass and Myrrh jumping and crashing into Saleh, nearly knocking him onto Eirika by complete accident. Sadly, I didn't have time to tease about that, though, as Tana landed next to us and dismounted. "Sorry, by the time I realized you were in the path, it was too late to change directory," Tana explained, smiling sheepishly. She then winked at me, forcing a cheerfulness that warned me to prepare myself for creepy things. "All clear for now. You're up!"

"Got it, Tana," I replied, winking at her too. And a knowing smile telling her that I got the silent message. "When you're done with your report, go cheer up Cormag. He's been broodier than Innes."

"Oh, ugh, that's a serious condition right there!" Tana laughed, relaxing. "Leave it to me!"

"Of course!" I hugged and kissed everyone's cheeks before rushing off to where Brynhildr was resting to do our patrol.

Because we had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on, or what _would_ happen, regular aerial patrols were set up with every flier doing a shift or two. Innes, meanwhile, tried to get as much information he could from his spies, but apparently infiltration was rough. A few spies had actually been caught in the days before we arrived, and the bodies set on display made it all too clear that we had to be _cautious_. Even if that meant not gathering as much information. Dead people told no tales, after all.

For that reason, when Brynhildr and I flew over the city, we stayed very high, well out of reach of even a ballistae, just in case. However, when I looked down, I noticed just what had unnerved Tana. The city… it appeared empty. There were no soldiers patrolling the streets. There were no civilians milling about the market. Hell, there weren't even monsters lumbering about. The only activity was at the castle itself, and even then, it was difficult to see just what sort of 'activity' it was. I barely caught sight of Seth in the courtyard, clearly waiting, and he glanced up just in time to see me. After a moment, he shook his head, silently saying that no one had greeted him, and I nodded in return, making a note to include that in my report. Then I did another sweep over the city to see what I saw. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So, still feeling unnerved, I decided to do something very risky and very stupid, especially since I knew how cautious we had to be. I decided to have Brynhildr fly in close to the castle so that I could look through the windows and see if I actually saw anything. Just something that told me the castle was still alive. The first few windows yielded nothing, even showing how the halls and paintings on the walls were dusty. But the fifth window I checked did give me a person: Lyon.

Even better, he quickly opened the window to talk to me. "You… it's Emma, right?" he asked softly. Just as before, his tone and demeanor reminded me of a ghost. "Eirika's friend."

"That I am, and this is Brynhildr, the wyvern who decided to steal me," I joked in return, gesturing to Brynhildr. Brynhildr crooned and Lyon actually laughed. "About time I saw someone alive. I was getting worried."

"Seth is outside, isn't he? I thought I saw him." Lyon grimaced. "The soldiers are preparing for a battle. I don't think they'll move out today, but…"

"No chance of surrender, huh? Damn." I sighed, frustrated. That would be too convenient. However, I did have one bit of luck. Lyon was literally right here. "Hey, Lyon?" I wondered how to ask this, but then decided to just be blunt. "Your father. He's like… a corpse puppet, isn't he? Or corrupted by something?"

"Huh?" His jaw dropped, and he squirmed. "You… you know about…?"

"Orson was my brother-in-law, so we knew about..." My throat closed up. It was hard to talk about either of them. "Well…"

"Then his wife was…" His eyes filled with tears and he covered his mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Both of them deserved far better."

"That describes a lot of people, but I appreciate the sympathy." I closed my eyes to regain my calm and then nodded. "Oh, whatever, here." I reached out to him, but he leaned away, shaking his head. "No? I promise that I'm a good rider."

"I'm sure you're an excellent rider. But I know I can help Ephraim and Eirika better while _here_. And I need to…" A conflicted look flicked across his face, almost too fast to see. "I have to do everything I can for them.

"But…" I tried to think of an argument, but Brynhildr growled in warning. She sensed something and that meant we had to move. I had no time. Damn it. "Anything you want me to pass on?"

"...Please… please tell Eirika and Ephraim that I will always be their friend and I am so, _so_ sorry for all of this." He smiled, but this time, it wasn't gentle. This time, it looked _broken_. As broken as Orson's smile, when we learned Monica would die. "And please tell Duessel and Selena that they _must_ protect the people."

"If you keep talking like you're going to die, I'm going to drag you over the saddle." I scowled at him, irritated. "I mean it."

"Sorry, it's just… I managed evacuations, but I don't…" He gestured vaguely before shrugging. "I don't know where…"

"Ah, I was wondering." I sighed, but nodded. After hesitating, I urged Brynhildr a little closer and leaned down to kiss his forehead. He seemed stunned by the gesture. "Hold on, Lyon. I know this has to be painful, but…"

"Please, save my father." He looked up at me entreatingly. "Save my country. I am far too weak to do both."

"That's because you're alone, silly." I smiled at him. "The only way we've all made it this far has been because we pulled our strength together."

"I wish I had recognized that earlier."

"There's still time, Lyon. You'll see."

Brynhildr darted high in the skies, above the lowest clouds, and I looked down to see Lyon watching me. I made sure to wave before flying back over the city, doing one last check before returning. However, an unsettled feeling fell over me, like a pillow trying to suffocate me. I simultaneously felt like I just made the worst _and_ best decision, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Other than dread.

Gods, what was going on?

* * *

I delivered my report and Lyon's message. Surprisingly, I wasn't scolded for being reckless, which was really odd because most people jumped on me when that happened. Instead, Seth was called back and the last preparations were made. Then, just after dawn, we invaded Lekikya in order to end the 'War with Grado' at last.

Cormag and I were paired together, at his request. There had been no sign of _any_ generals, but that didn't mean they weren't hiding in the shadows. Cormag wanted someone willing to hit him over the head if he was being stupid, and we all knew I was willing to do such things. So, we stayed close together, prioritizing taking out Grado's wyvern force. I wondered just how many Glen knew. I wondered just how many Glen had fought beside. I knew better to ask, though. After all, whatever the actual numerical value, I knew the answer was 'too many'.

"There's far less wyverns than I thought there would be," Cormag murmured at some point, when we finally had a bit of a breather. Despite the aching in my arms and back and the numbness of my legs and ass all screaming we'd been fighting for days, the sun wasn't even at its highest point yet. "Where the hell are they?"

"Maybe wherever Valter is?" I suggested, wiping the sweat off my face. I then checked my quiver, counting arrows. I still had quite a few, thankfully. "Or Riev?"

"No clue why they wouldn't be here at the capital. Unless…" Cormag's eyes narrowed. I glanced around to check the surroundings, but the skies were filled with pegasus knights, and there was no danger from below. "Unless they're giving it up?"

"That doesn't seem smart."

"It doesn't. But if the true purpose of the war is the Stones, as Natasha said, then what purpose does the capital actually serve?" His grip on his lance tightened and Genarog growled in annoyance. "If they can make it to Rausten, then what we've done here is meaningless."

"Renais's Sacred Stone is with us." But I did have to admit he had a point. And there was another question. There were no monsters. Despite the boat and Taizel, there were _no_ monsters here. And I doubted we'd somehow killed all of them in those two locations. "But I suppose that would explain why they'd leave a significant force here, if your theory is true."

"I hope we at least learn the truth of what happened to the Emperor here. For Selena and Duessel." The pain in his eyes said 'for me, too'. "There's many questions, but if we can at least get that answered…"

"I think that'll be good for many people." I looked down again, surveying the city. Our forces were holding their own well, from what I could tell, with the frontline pushing forward. In fact, I could see our cavalry punch straight through the enemies front lines from here. "Seth is proving his reputation is well-deserved."

"Seth's reputation freaking _downplays_ his skill." Cormag sounded so done, and I laughed. "He offered me a place in Renais."

"Tana offered you a place in Frelia too, didn't she?" I smiled and bumped my shoulder against his. "You're going to have a lot of options when this all settles."

"For now, I just want to make it through." He sighed, and I nodded, understanding. "Oh, there's Duessel…"

"Where?" I looked down and he pointed to show me where to look. "Seems Duessel's reputation is also well deserved."

"Always has been." He smiled, proud, and then he laughed, shaking his head. "Listen to us, gossiping like wives at a market."

"We're recovering our strength. We've been fighting for a long while." Still, I did do a 'proper' survey, looking for threats. "Does Grado not have ballistae?"

"Of course not. The only other country with an aerial unit is Frelia, so the ballistae would be more likely to hit us."

"...Right, that was a dumb question." I sighed. "I'm tired."

"And there's still a long way to go before we can sleep." He ruffled my hair and I nodded. "So, where to?"

"Best thing from here…" I frowned, thinking. "I think we should fly ahead of the line and start hit and run tactics if the enemy wyvern knights are dealt with. What do you think?" Brynhildr and Genarog, amusingly, both growled in agreement. "Well, we know what _they_ think."

"And I think the same." Cormag nodded and rolled his shoulders to loosen them up for the next round of fighting. "Let's go."

"Right above you."

Both of us burst forward, easily flying past the frontlines. Once we were a good distance away, we began our assault, with Cormag diving and me supporting with my arrows. When I ran out of arrows, I had Brynhildr drop down into the middle of the fray to rip enemies to shreds with teeth and claws and I stole a quiver to use. Or, well, Colm stole one for me. Perhaps because of Neimi, but Colm seemed to make it his duty nowadays to making sure all archers had plenty of arrows. I made a mental note to cook up some of his favorite dishes when I got a chance and then Brynhildr launched herself back into the air so that I could cover Cormag again.

And so, the battle continued, all the way to the very gates of the castle. The streets were flooded from all the blood, and some alleys were dammed up by broken corpses. The smell of death slowly meandered up, heavy with all the souls of the people who'd died, and overwhelmed even the smell of smoke and burning meat. And, though I knew we did our best to be careful, the city itself was cracking. Some houses went up in flames from missed spells on either side. Some streets were demolished from thunder spells or missed strikes. Windows were shattered, the shards actually being used as weapons for the desperate.

When near the gates of the castle, Cormag and I flew around, making sure no one was trapped, before returning to our hit and run tactics. However, as we swooped down, we noticed that Duessel was off his horse, for some reason, and was fighting someone, a man with long purple-grey hair who wore heavy armor and wielded a fierce spear. Cormag's sharp breath was what told me who exactly the opponent was. This… this was Emperor Vigarde. He was on the field, and Duessel was…

"I am sorry for this, your majesty," Duessel said to Vigarde as they fought. Vigarde didn't twitch, even with Duessel's lance went right past his eye. "But I know this is what I must do, for your sake as well as mine." The two clashed and jumped apart. Duessel was fighting back tears; Vigarde was emotionless. "This is the path I decided my loyalty would take. Making sure you didn't hurt the land and people you love."

Those last words caused a reaction. A flicker of some sort of emotion appeared in Vigarde's eyes and he stumbled back, lance falling to his side. However, when Duessel attempted to push forward, to end the fight right then and there, a barrage of fire and thunder magic battered him. Duessel screamed in pain, and the area around him ignited from the magic. And though I was terrified for Duessel, I kept my attention of Vigarde, who stared at the flames. It was hard to see any sort of emotion, between the distance and the smoke, but I thought I saw his mouth move. I thought he said, or mouthed, 'Duessel…'. But I wasn't sure.

And I didn't have time to think on it. Next to me, Cormag was frozen, no doubt rattled by the last few seconds. "Go to him!" I snapped, half-pushing Cormag. He looked at me with wide eyes. " _Go_! I'll get the mages!" I already could see where most of them were, on a rooftop not far away. "But if you do something stupid, Brynhildr is going to bite you."

"...Same to you!" he retorted. The words had no heat, though, because he smiled. "You know how sharp Genarog's bite is."

"Yeah, yeah, go on!" A couple weeks ago, I never would've thought either of us could joke about that first meeting. But here we were. "See you later!"

"Yes, later!" Genarog darted straight for where Duessel was, neither looking back.

Brynhildr, meanwhile, immediately pulled a sharp turn, one that actually flipped her up and around to make it harder for her to be targeted. She took up a zigzagged trajectory to the roof for the same reason, and slammed down, cracking the roof under her weight. The squelching sound told me she'd landed on at least one.

"Hello, I hope you made your wills," I hissed to the remaining mages, sitting back in the saddle. Brynhildr shrieked in fury and rose up to spread her wings wide, showing off her full size. No few of the mages blanched. "You just pissed off a wyvern, after all."

I didn't even have to pull out an arrow. Brynhildr took care of them all, their fear slowing them down. The ones she didn't bite in half or rend into pieces were thrown off the building, dying in splats. I'd be sick over it later, but for right now, there was too much going on. Far, far too much. This was definitely one of our more chaotic battles. That was for sure.

"Vigarde!" Somehow or another, Vigarde had ended up near the building I was on, and Ephraim had pushed his way through the chaos to confront him. He wasn't mounted, though. I wondered where his horse was. Maybe wherever Duessel's had gone. "Vigarde, please, tell me what is going on!" he demanded, glaring and readying his lance. Vigarde's only response was blankness and settling into his own stance. "So, you really have lost your senses… and you're too far to tell me how, huh? Very well, then!"

The two began fighting, but I looked away, paying attention to the nearby roofs for more mages. I sighted a couple and sniped them, and shot a few more as they attempted to climb up. I thought about taking to the skies to check on Cormag, but Brynhildr's breath was labored, showing that she was reaching her limits, so instead, I opted to remain on the roof and instead keep on sniping who I could see. Doing what I could.

A startling loud clang, however, startled me out of my 'meditative stance' and I looked down to see Ephraim and Vigarde still fighting. Except the 'clang' had been Ephraim knocking Vigarde's spear to the side to open up his guard. Then, quickly as you please, Ephraim caught Vigarde clear across the throat, what would normally be a killing blow. However, the absolutely nauseating smell that erupted from the wound proved that Vigarde had died a long time ago. He was like Monica, a corpse-puppet. However, unlike Monica, Vigarde kept moving, possibly because the 'wound' wasn't that deep. And since Ephraim had reeled back from the smell, Vigarde easily disarmed him, the lance glinting as it spun away, and knocked Ephraim to the ground.

Time slowed when I realized that Vigarde was moving for a killing blow and that I didn't have a good angle to even attempt to stop him. Instinctively, I covered my face, even as Brynhildr lunged forward, unwilling to watch Vigarde kill Ephraim. I felt my heart stop and my stomach drop at the sound of stone shattering. It was only when Brynhildr stopped moving, landed on the ground, that I made myself bring my shaking hands down, scared of what I would see.

To my surprise, though, I didn't see a dead Ephraim. Instead, I saw Vigarde standing over a shocked, lightly bleeding Ephraim, with his lance having cracked the stones right by Ephraim. The angle showed that Vigarde had… had diverted the strike at the very last second.

"Eph… raim…" Vigarde shakily bit out. His voice rattled, like a marble in a tin can, and there was something unnatural to it, completely unlike Monica's voice had been. Though perhaps that was because of the hole in his neck. "Please…"

"Vigarde!" Ephraim yelped, standing and reaching out to him. But Vigarde shook his head and stumbled back. The lance scraped against the stone-covered ground. "Vigarde, what is…?"

"Don't… have time…" His face contorted in pain, and I realized he was fighting something off. Perhaps the magic? "No… time… my fault… all of this… because of… my pride…"

"Vigarde?"

"Please… please save Lyon!" His body jerked about, like someone pulled sharply on his 'strings'. But the passion and desperation in his voice… it made my heart ache. "Please save my son! Save him from what my pride inflicted on him!" It made my heart ache because despite the struggle of his earlier words, these ones came so easily. "I know… I know he can be saved still… I know, because I can push this off still…!"

"Of _course_ I'll save Lyon! He's my best friend!" Ephraim reached out to Vigarde again, but Vigarde stumbled back further, convulsing and groaning in pain. "Vigarde!"

"I am… so sorry for this…" Vigarde's arm sharply rose, and it trembled, the lance's tip swinging forward and back. The puppeteer was trying to control Vigarde, trying to make him kill Ephraim again, but Vigarde resisted. "I am so sorry… to leave you with this mess… my stupid pride… it doomed everything…"

"Vigarde!"

"But I'm glad… I could apologize…" Vigarde's face suddenly lit up with a bright and warm smile. A fatherly sort of smile. The smile that Cormag knew from his memory, the smile that Selena had fought for. That expression… it belonged to the emperor beloved by all of his people, respected by all of his knights. "Thank you… Ephraim… pass on my apologies… to everyone… especially Lyon…"

Before anyone could react, before anyone could say anything, Vigarde shoved his lance straight into his own head. It cracked open like a melon, blood and matter flying everywhere, and his body crumpled like a rag doll, heavy armor clanging on the ground like a death knell. Ephraim just stared, still-outstretched hand trembling as he tried to process what the hell just happened. I hesitated a bit before unbuckling myself and dismounting from Brynhildr to hug him. He leaned against me stiffly for a moment before slowly clinging to my arm. Brynhildr moved behind us, wings outstretched to shield us from the world while Ephraim tried to figure out how to react and I gave him what comfort I could.

Coagulated, sticky blood slowly dribbled out of Vigarde's broken corpse at our feet, his last words lingering on the wind. What was left of his face was still smiling.

* * *

With Vigarde dead, the battle slowly winded down. Though it was a victory, everyone remained alert. We had no idea what tricks were still there, and the lack of monsters here felt suspicion, especially after Taizel. So, we patrolled the grounds and castle carefully, going over every area at least three times. Just in case.

"I think this is the same area I saw Lyon," I noted softly, walking with Ephraim. He and I were assigned to patrolling this part of the castle, both of us moving slowly so that we could react more quickly to anything. "It's certainly dusty enough." I shifted my quiver to be a little more comfortable. Despite being on-foot, I decided to use my bow in case I needed range. Normally, I'd be outside, riding Brynhildr, but Eirika had specifically asked me to stay near Ephraim during these patrols because she could tell he was out of it. "Is it normally this dusty?" Of course, anyone probably could've noticed how out of it Ephraim was because of how tense and silent he was. "Ephraim?" Which I found understandable. But Eirika had wanted me near to keep him out of such a mood. "Hmm…" So, after a moment, I skipped up to his side and kissed his cheek, right by the mouth. And giggled when he squeaked and turned red. "Paying attention now?"

"Er… well, now you've just made what little mind I have stop," Ephraim retorted, scowling a bit. It quickly softened for a fond smile, though, and I grinned back. "You would think I'd be used to that, given how beautiful you are."

"...For someone who claims he's bad at flirting…!" I looked away, trying in vain to hide my own blush, and he chuckled. "Ugh… anyway, did you hear me? About Lyon?"

"I did. My mind immediately tried to remember what was in this area." He pointed to a set of doors not far from us. "I think one of the study rooms for the mages is right here, actually?"

"Good place to start, then." However, neither of us rushed ahead. Instead, we continued our slow, cautious pace, and glanced at each other before checking the door.

It opened without a sound, leading into a large room that looked almost like any other study I'd seen. There were tables and chairs and various books scattered about. It had no windows, lit by candles, but it was otherwise a rather unremarkable room. The most notable thing about it was… was that Lyon was leaning against one of the tables, reading a book. Ephraim immediately relaxed, and I almost did. But when Lyon looked up, I froze. Because something was different. Something was wrong. The way he held himself… the look in his eyes… they were all completely different from the Lyon I spoke to before. _That_ Lyon had been like a ghost, as he had been in Jehanna Hall. _This_ Lyon was something more… honestly, the dread pooling in my stomach was similar to the feeling I got when I knew Valter was around. But even worse.

"Hello, Ephraim," Lyon greeted. "I've been waiting for you." He smiled warmly, yet there was something off about it. It was 'warm' in the same way a humid day was 'warm'. "Looks like you defeated my father." Lyon set his book down on the table, and straightened. Unease flooded me when I saw how 'smooth' his movements were. It went straight past 'graceful' and into 'unnatural'. "I thought you might. You've always been the strongest."

"That's…" Ephraim began, a little hesitantly. "Well, considering what I saw, I suppose I shouldn't be _too_ surprised you're saying that about your father." Still, Ephraim smiled back, and regarded Lyon fondly. "But finally. Finally, I found you. Come on." Ephraim held out his hand to Lyon. "We should talk about what's been going on, and how we can rebuild the peace. And catch up. There's a thousand things I need to tell you."

"What a coincidence. There's many things I need to tell you as well. I…" Lyon suddenly grimaced in pain, coughing and clutching his chest. But he shook his head when Ephraim tried to take a step forward. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Huh?" Ephraim frowned. His hand pulled back slightly, hesitant now. "What do you mean?"

"I will make the world Grado's… no, _my_ plaything!" Lyon's eyes sparked with elation and he smirked. I instinctively drew an arrow, far past unnerved now. This wasn't… this was _not_ the person I talked to earlier. They had the same face, answered to the same name, but this sort of difference was far too much to account for just 'talking to different people'. "I've been planning this for a long while. Why else would I befriend you and Eirika? I needed to know how best to attack Renais. Take out the center, and then it's so easy to funnel people into traps."

"Lyon, what are you talking about?" Ephraim glared, tensing up from fury. Now his hand was a fist at his side. "That's not-"

"And thanks to the two of you, I learned all that I needed to know!" Lyon's smirk grew, and I swore I saw madness in it. "While you feigned compassion and friendship for me, I did the same! While you scorned me and my weakness…"

"What?!" Ephraim's anger shattered for shock. "What? No, never! We never-!"

"And then, I set my plan in motion. I replaced my useless father, and began destroying Renais." Lyon leaned forward slightly. "I killed your father, you know?" Ephraim reeled back from the 'blow' the words inflicted. "It was so funny. He was so weak, and yet he tried so hard…!"

Lyon laughed. Ephraim snapped something. I, however, gasped at the words, confused. After all, I remembered that conversation I'd overheard. This Lyon made it sound like he'd done it for fun, but I remembered Syrene telling Seth that Lyon had tried to _heal_ Fado, and only killed him when it proved impossible. And I supposed it was possible Lyon had tortured Fado and was trying to heal him for more torture, but I felt like you wouldn't mercy-kill someone if you planned something like that. And all of that… all of that just solidified my feeling.

So, in one smooth motion, I drew back the arrow and fired, striking his shoulder. "I don't know who you are, but you're not Lyon," I whispered cooly, drawing another arrow. Lyon yelped and staggered back, clutching at his shoulder. "Who are you?"

"You…" Lyon hissed, snarling at me. Blood seeped through his fingers. "Bah… desert folk are so troublesome." He rolled his eyes and I frowned, not quite understanding why he'd say that. Sure, it was a shot at my very obvious Jehannan heritage, but the exasperation in his tone was weird, considering how Jehanna hadn't really resisted Grado well. "But it doesn't matter. No one is strong enough to stop me now. Not even you, Ephraim." He turned his attention back to Ephraim, who stared in shock. "There's only two left, you know? Two more stones… I've almost beaten you, finally. Finally, I've almost matched you…!" He laughed, low and dark. "Try to make it to me, Ephraim. If you do, I'll grant you the honor of dying by my hand." He smirked again. "Like father, like son, huh?"

He disappeared suddenly, in a whirlwind of purple magic. However, I noticed that, unlike with Jehanna Hall… this magic was darker. It was a darker purple. A _much_ darker purple. And that… that just seemed weird to me. I didn't know much about magic, mind, but...

"What… what the hell was that?!" Ephraim snapped, finally unfreezing. He kicked a table for good measure, pacing about in frustration. "Lyon, what the hell was that?! None of that is true, and I damn well know it!" He glared at the ground, trembling from quiet fury. "I know it! It's not… none of it is…!"

"Ephraim…" I began, relaxing and returning my arrow to my quiver. I thought about telling him to calm down, but… well, I was certain such a thing couldn't be done. So much had been thrown at him. "I…" So, here I was, helpless because I had no idea how to comfort him. I didn't know what to do.

"I thought we'd get answers, but it seems there's only more questions!" He growled a couple more things under his breath, and I stood there awkwardly. "You looked confused rather than shocked."

"Pardon?" It took a second to realize that he was addressing me. "What do you mean?"

"When Lyon brought up killing my father." He turned to look at me, but his face was expressionless now. "You looked confused. Not shocked."

"Oh. Ah…" I looked away, feeling awkward. "I might've heard something before."

"And you didn't think I should hear it?!" Ephraim's angry voice shocked me into looking at him again, and I felt like I'd been punched when I saw him glaring at me. "You didn't think that it was important to share how my father died?!"

"I overheard the information _ages_ ago!" Hurt as I was, I snapped right on back, bristling. "Go scream at Seth if you're wondering why you're in the damn dark! _He's_ the one Syrene told, damn it!" Plus it was Frelia's spies who had the information, so why the hell did Innes not say anything?!

"Seth always hides Father's secrets! It took him ages to tell Eirika and myself about the importance of our bracelets!" Distantly, I knew he had a point there. "But _you_ knew and didn't say anything!"

"What was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to do? Just waltz up and go 'oh, hey, your father was tortured to death for information and your best friend mercy-killed him?!" And now I was furious. "You must think really low of me if you think my sense of tact is _that_ bad!"

"After everything _else_ you've bluntly stated? Like how hated I was by my own people? Or how my father was dead?" And he had more points there. " _That's_ where you draw the line?"

"Well, maybe if you actually spent some damn time with me, it might've actually come up!" I shouldn't have said that. I knew I shouldn't have. It was unfair. It was more than unfair. "But no! You're always working! Spending so much time with your paperwork that you might as well court and marry it!"

"That is not-!"

"King Ephraim! Lady Emma!" A soldier burst in then, cutting the argument short. They blinked in confusion, no doubt sensing the tense air. "Um… King Joshua states that they found a prisoner in the dungeons and that you should meet them downstairs," they reported, saluting hesitantly. I looked down at the ground to avoid looking at them. "Um…"

"Understood," Ephraim replied, his words terse. He walked right on past me, not even pretending to offer his hand to me or anything. "Show me."

"Y-yes, sir!" The soldier glanced at me worriedly, but bowed and led Ephraim out the door.

As soon as they were out of sight, I found myself tearing up, though I stubbornly refused to cry. I refused to cry over… over such an ass of a man! Even one I loved very much… Ah, how did this even happen? Had I messed up? Was this my fault? I had no idea. But I did feel like he shouldn't have yelled at me for it. He never yelled…

Still struggling to not cry, I picked up the book Lyon had been reading, holding it up to read the title. I frowned when I saw it was a history of the war with the Demon King. That seemed… almost too appropriate. Especially when I remembered that journal that Lyon had apparently left for Eirika, way back at the castle in Ivroria.

What the hell _was_ going on?

* * *

Thankfully, everything was so busy that no one noticed how… awkward Ephraim and I were with each other when I finally joined the group downstairs, in a room by the infirmary. It helped that I hung back, staying near the door while everyone else (Joshua, Eirika, Ephraim, Innes, and L'arachel) clustered around the table where the lone prisoner sat, a man wearing hooded dark robes who looked almost unnaturally thin.

"So, if you can feel your health deteriorating, you should talk to L'arachel," Joshua explained, sounding like this was the tail end of a very long summary of things. He leaned against the wall next to the table, eyes narrowed. "So, who are you?"

"Such odd questions for executioners, but based on that explanation, it seems you aren't the ones to kill me," the man murmured. He then shrugged, and bowed his head. "My name is Knoll. Until recently, I was one of Grado's top researchers in arcane matters."

"And how did you end up in the cell, slated for execution?"

"Well, I was accused of being a traitor. Traitors tend to be put on the chopping block. Or the 'be eviscerated by dark magic' block as the case likely would've been." He spoke calmly, like none of it mattered. "One of the healers who treated me was a cleric here in the local temple, yes? The one with blonde hair?"

"Natasha, yes."

"Then you should know that already." He shrugged again. "That's all."

"If that's the case, then you know what's going on?" Ephraim asked quietly. He and Eirika stood side-by-side, right in front of Knoll. Only L'arachel and Innes sat at the table with Knoll, truthfully. "Please, tell us. We have quite a few questions, you see."

"I imagine so…" Knoll murmured. He studied all the gathered royals carefully, before sighing, his shoulders sagging slightly. "Very well. I will tell you what bits I do know. However, you will not thank me for it. You may even curse me."

"You might be surprised."

"I doubt it." Knoll closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Let's see… it all began… I suppose it's been a year now. It's been almost a year since this war started, after all." The absent words left me unsettled. A year. Just a year. It felt like lifetimes. "Well, no, it probably truly began earlier, with the Foresight."

"Foresight?" Innes repeated. He glanced at L'arachel, who shrugged. "What do you mean by that? I'm assuming we're not talking about predicting the future."

"No, I speak of the magical ability, where there is no _prediction_ ," Knoll explained, opening his eyes again. There was a glimmer, a faint glimmer, of excitement in them. "It is the ability to actually _see_ the future. Typically, one is simply born with the ability, but we researchers, headed by Prince Lyon, discovered a way for anyone to read the ripples of time."

"Why…?"

"To see disasters before they occur. To know where something will occur, when it will occur, and be able to minimize damages. It worked time and again…" The glimmer faded from Knoll's eyes. "However, one day, we saw a disaster on a scale we had never seen. One that would be… difficult to minimize."

"That sounds horrible…" L'arachel murmured. Her eyes were sympathetic, and she even smiled. "What was it?"

"An earthquake," Knoll answered dully. His eyes unfocused, and I thought he might be remembering what he had 'seen'. "But the word is far, _far_ too tame. It would topple entire cities, swallow acres of farmland. The earth's hot blood for ravage the lands. Roads would be obliterated. Large swatches of forest disappearing below the earth. And that isn't going into things such landslides, avalanches, mudslides, flooding, fires…"

"That…" L'arachel's voice shook, but she wasn't the only one who was shaken. _Everyone's_ eyes were wide. "Oh gods…"

"Precisely. Utter devastation. And worse, the people who didn't die immediately suffered the horror of slow death by starvation and suffocation. Trapped under buildings, sealed off from rescue..." Knoll closed his eyes again. "In short, we saw the complete and utter destruction of Grado. We all panicked, seeing that. We didn't know what to do. We tried and tried again to disprove what we had seen but…"

"But you weren't able to?" Eirika finished, her voice very small. She clung to Ephraim's arm and he leaned on her. "It was always the same?"

"Yes, it was," Knoll confirmed. He coughed a bit, and L'arachel immediately got him some water. "Thank you…" He took a sip and sighed, opening his eyes again. "Prince Lyon informed his father as soon as possible. I do not know the full conversation there, but I…" Knoll hesitated before looking right at Ephraim and Eirika. "I believe he wished to ask you all for help. Evacuations, emergency trade, that sort of thing."

"We would've helped!" Eirika's voice cracked a bit from the force. "We would've!"

"I know. I know, because of how much Prince Lyon loved you and Prince… King Ephraim. And he knew it too." Knoll sighed. "However, Emperor Vigarde told him to keep quiet. Keep it secret. Grado would handle it alone."

"But that's…"

"And I remember how Prince Lyon's voice shook when he told me about it. How ashamed he felt, because asking for help was simply another sign of his 'weakness'."

"As if wanting help for a natural disaster is weak!" Ephraim snapped. He winced and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. Please…"

"I warned you," Knoll reminded. He took another sip of water and nodded. "It was a few weeks after that… a few afterwards, Emperor Vigarde collapsed. And died."

"You knew that? No one else…"

"I knew because as soon as it happened, the very second, Prince Lyon fell into despair. He was devastated, and all of his insecurities broke him. And in that despair, he turned to the research he and I did together." He smiled slightly, wanly. "The Sacred Stone's power and its ability to heal. He wondered if he might be able to bring his father back from death itself, if he moved quick enough."

"Wait, Lyon was the one…?" Uneasiness settled over us like a shroud. We had… we had assumed that Lyon had simply accepted an offer, like Orson. We hadn't… and that made me remember his apology to me. How he'd nearly cried about Monica and... "He…"

"He had always been enthusiastic about using the Stone's power. He hoped its abilities would help save lives. And, in desperation, born from despair and self-loathing, he pursued it too quickly, too ardently…" Knoll closed his eyes. Eirika and Ephraim both winced, hinting that they'd known about the research. "I didn't see the deed done, mind. When I arrived, he had already done it. And the Fire Emblem had split into two. The Sacred Stone and the Dark Stone. I watched Prince Lyon destroy the Sacred Stone myself."

"That can't…" Again, uneasiness settled over everyone. "Lyon… why…?"

"After that, Emperor Vigarde ordered the invasion of Renais at Prince Lyon's behest. When Father McGregor grew suspicious, Prince Lyon had him executed." I thought of Natasha and the warning she gave us, so long ago. "I was labeled a traitor and sentenced to be executed. Tomorrow." Knoll opened his eyes again and looked at each of the royals. All of them were some degree of shocked, horrified, and saddened. "He frightens me now. Prince Lyon… he's transformed. He's no longer the kind and gentle prince I admired and swore to follow. He's something else." He picked up his water again, and this time, took a longer sip. "That's all the truths I know. That's all that I witnessed. I hope you learned what you wanted."

I decided that was all I needed to hear, and that it was time for me to leave. As I did, though, I saw Eirika's expression crumple and quickly rushed to her side and led her out, ignoring everyone else. I held onto her as she began to sob quietly, and I asked around until I found the room designated for her, the guest room she always used when visiting Grado. There, I held her as she sobbed and wailed for the misery and heartbreak her friend suffered. The misery and heartbreak they hadn't known about because Lyon had been told to suffer in silence.

I understood why Vigarde thought this was all his fault now. If he'd let Lyon tell others… if he hadn't lived up to his title of 'Silent Emperor' to the point of not sharing his own suffering and worries… if he hadn't accidentally taught Lyon that suffering in silence was the way to be strong… then maybe, just maybe, this could've been avoided.

* * *

Eirika ended up passing out while crying, so I wiped her face and tucked her in before leaving briefly to get her some light foods and teas to eat and drink later. And wrote a note telling her to just rest, because I'd handle her normal duties for the day. And I wasn't the only one who decided to do so. Tana and L'arachel also had figured Eirika would need to rest after today, and so, we split up the duties between the three of us. I got the lion's share, because I didn't _have_ other duties to do, and mostly left the more diplomacy related stuff to them while I handled everything else. It was difficult, and I wasn't used to it, but I managed well enough that no one complained or anything. Still, it was a relief to be _done_. I didn't know how Eirika did stuff like that every day. Not at all.

But even that relief didn't really lift my mood as I re-entered the castle. Knoll had wanted to show us the temple where the Fire Emblem had once rested, and we had discovered that Grado's Sacred Twins, the Axe Garm and the Dark Tome Gleipnir, were still there, completely untouched, meaning we got even more weapons to be used against the monsters. A good thing, except it was a solemn reminder that there was still quite a long way to go for this campaign. And, of course, Ephraim had been in the group, since it had been the royals plus me being awkwardly there, which meant that Ephraim and I had done our best to not talk to each other without seeming obvious about it.

Just… ugh… I was so damn _mad_ at him! And I was hurt. But I also felt guilty for snapping back, because I knew he was emotionally distraught. Today had been a hell of a day, and he'd gone from fighting Vigarde to _that_ conversation with Lyon and finding out who killed his father in literally the worst way possible. And I knew I'd said things that I shouldn't have said too. I mean… gods, that barb about not spending time with me… I knew he had a lot of work. He was the leader of an army, and was a king. There was a lot he had to do, and I was one of the people who had pushed for him to not run away or get lazy about such duties. That I, of all people, would shout that at him… that had been unreasonable at best. And, worse, I… I didn't know what to do. I'd never really argued like that with someone, and Monica and Orson had never argued from what I saw. Did he still love me? I still loved him. Was it over or was this just a little setback? I had no idea, and honestly, I was too awkward and too scared to even think about asking someone about it.

Growling to myself over how idiotic I was being, I shook my head and changed my path from 'my room' to 'nearby balcony' to get some wind on my face. I actually thought about going to the stables to ride Brynhildr, but she needed to rest after the battle. So, instead, I leaned against the railing, thinking of that conversation with Lyon. Those differences… Selena had mentioned 'mood swings' so intense that it was like he was a different person, but that had seemed beyond that. I could agree with Knoll about how he had 'transformed' into something different, but that didn't explain what I had seen just yesterday. What I'd seen in Jehanna Hall.

Then there was what Knoll had told us. How _Lyon_ had been the one to bring back his father, not just accepted some sort of bargain or whatever. It certainly made sense when considering his apology to Eirika back at Jehanna Hall. But that made me wonder just… how. The only being known to be able to do such things was…

A horrible thought occurred to me then, one that hit me like a stone to the head. And though I tried to dismiss it, I couldn't. Instead, I thought of how Lyon had mentioned Magvel being his 'plaything'. I thought of him mentioning the stones, and how Knoll said that Lyon had destroyed Grado's. I thought of what L'arachel had mentioned when we were at Bethroen. About how the Demon King's soul needed a place to _stay_ …

"Emma?" Saleh's voice nearly made me shriek, and I whirled to see him standing right behind me. "My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you," he murmured, bowing his head slightly. "I simply saw you and..."

"It's… it's fine," I reassured, pressing a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart. And trying to not be embarrassed. "Just been a long day."

"It has." He joined me by the railing, looking out over the view. A nice view, now that I was paying attention. You could see all the farmlands, even though it was night. "I just visited Eirika. She's very grateful to you."

"I feel like I should tease you, but today has been far too much of a hell for me to do that." I did still smirk a little and, to my delight, he rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing you brought her that same drink you brought me, after we retook Ivroria."

"I did. I thought she could use the comfort, especially after what she told me just what Master Knoll had revealed." He glanced at me and I had a bad feeling that he hadn't stopped to talk just to gossip. He'd noticed something about my demeanor. "So…"

"So, how's Duessel?" That had to be the most obvious attempt at redirection ever. "I haven't been able to get to the infirmary."

"Wounded terribly, but he'll recover. I worry for his mental health, but learning that it was someone controlling Vigarde seems to have done quite a bit to lift the burden of 'turning traitor' on him." Saleh fell silent, and I tried to not wince. The conversation turned right back to where… "Lady Myrrh says that the source of the darkness has moved northward."

"Has it?" Damn, I'd kind of hoped it had stayed right here. Then I'd be wrong. Then… "Well, that's a little… um…"

"You know." He looked right at me, and I flinched away. "You know what the answer to all of this is. You heard the same information that I did. Considering how lucky you can be when it comes to eavesdropping, you've probably heard more."

"We don't _know_ anything." The words felt like lead in my mouth, thudding to the ground as I dropped my head. I didn't… I didn't want to be right. "There could still be things we don't know. Things that..."

"There could be. And I hope that is the case. Because if we're right…" He trailed off, not wanting to speak the words for fear of them being true. But I could complete the thought. If we were right… if I was right… then _Lyon_ was the vessel for the Demon King. "I fear there is more tragedy to come."

"Latona survived."

"She did. And, if we're lucky, we can replicate that success. Hopefully." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "I dare not think of what will happen if…"

"Politically, it'll be messy. Personally, it'll be worse." I looked up at the stars, watching them sparkle. They just made me angry. "Hey, gods! Supposedly, you like people like me, so help us out a little! Hasn't there been enough death? You're overworking the God of Death and the Queen-Goddess of the Dead, you know!"

"I used to think people who yelled at gods were fools, but I understand the feeling all too clearly now." He smiled bitterly and I shrugged, smiling wryly in return. I didn't see how it could hurt at this point. "This journey has reminded me that there is always more to learn."

"Like falling in love and how to court someone?" I had to tease, and it was worth his scowl and blush. "Yes, I know. Totally inappropriate. But it was too easy of an opening."

"It's very easy to see how you're half-Jehannan."

"Thank you~!" I giggled, but soon let myself become serious again. "Something I don't get about all of this, though, is Knoll." I glanced at him. "We made it very clear we were here and going to attack. If Lyon was trying to hide what happened, then why…?"

"Why did he not go ahead and kill him? I agree; that is odd." Saleh frowned. "Not to mention leaving Grado's Sacred Twins where they could easily be found…"

"Yeah, why not hide them?" It could be that 'Lyon' didn't think they were a threat, but considering they had been crafted to fight the Demon King… "I think he's still there. Still fighting."

"If so, then perhaps there is a chance. Maybe." Saleh sighed and shook his head. "Ah, we're just going in circles. It might be a good idea to rest. The war with Grado is done, but Magvel isn't safe yet."

"Yeah…" I sighed and pushed myself off the railing. "Okay, time to find Joshua and tease him silly about Natasha. That's always fun. Want to come along?"

"Knowing the Jehannans, they're probably all grouped together, so… yes, actually." Saleh chuckled. "I think this is a situation that calls for a drink."

"You drink alcohol?"

"Never have before, actually. But, again…" He shrugged. "Always more to learn and this day has taught me just why the phrase 'I need a drink' exists."

"I hear you." I had to laugh. "Let's find them, then. If they are all together, then we know we can have a nice little fun time to pretend today didn't happen."

"Agreed."

Saleh was right. Gerik and Tethys had made a nice big room for all the Jehannans to hang out in, so we just joined in with the 'party'. Saleh stuck close to Marisa during the night, mostly because she helped him safely try alcohols, and I stayed near Joshua and Natasha to tease them silly. It was exactly what I needed. Especially when I saw Ephraim poke his head in, and both of us looked away from each other, pretending we hadn't seen each other.

Got a war going on, was dealing with the possibility that Lyon was doomed, and here I was in the middle of an argument with my boyfriend. Gods, I was just freaking brilliant, huh?

* * *

 _No one joined again. Knoll might, but he's in the middle of getting treatment, so we'll see._

* * *

Author's notes: So, I made quite a few changes here. One, while Lyon does feature in the opening cutscene, none of the playable cast talks to him. Two, this is an indoor map in-game. Three, Vigarde says absolutely nothing to the playable cast. Duessel asking forgiveness from Vigarde is based off his in-game boss convo with Vigarde. Similar to Ephraim demanding answers from Vigarde, though of course, in-game, this takes place prior to Ephraim figuring out anything and in-story, it's after, so it's a bit different. No one in-game figures out the connection between Lyon and the Demon King yet at this point of the story, but since they're operating with a bit more knowledge, I figured it would make sense for a couple to put the pieces together.

The conversation with Lyon after the battle occurs in game, though 'Lyon' (really 'evil Lyon' which you can tell in-game thanks to the sprite difference) leaves because he's 'too weak' or something, but I figured him getting 'shot' was just as good of an excuse. (Wonder if anyone guessed that overheard conversation _way_ back in the very first interlude of the story would show up again like this? Heehee~)

In-game, this would be the map where you'd recruit Rennac, and his recruitment is the same as in Eirika's route. Either pay 10000 by talking to him with Eirika or talk to him with L'arachel for a free recruitment. The massive earthquake that hits Grado in the future comes from Knoll's supports with Duessel and Natasha

Next Chapter - Interlude, Moonstone


	38. Interlude - Moonstone

Interlude - Moonstone

* * *

 _Well, the war is over. Yay, yippee, whoo hoo. Except there's more questions than answers still and our assumptions about the whole situation might be very wrong. Worse, Saleh and I have a theory that might mean… ugh, I didn't even want to think about it. And, on top of it all, Ephraim and I had an argument._

 _Once, I had a simple life. Now, I just wanted to have a life._

* * *

There was one good thing about me not having duties and Ephraim having _all_ the duties. Mainly, no one thought anything weird about the two of us avoiding each other, except to be exasperated at us. Oh, sure, a few people guessed something was wrong, but honestly, _everything_ about our situation was so wrong that the few times someone asked, it was easy to give an answer that was true. Just not the whole truth.

"If Tethys saw you right now, she'd declare a state of emergency with how puffy your eyes are," I teased Eirika, pressing a rag soaked in cold water around her eyes. Eirika made a face and turned away to blow her nose again. "I told you to not fight the cry."

"I'm just annoyed at how much I've been crying over this," Eirika replied, cleaning her face some. When she turned back to me, I went right on back to cooling her face down. Supposedly, it would help with the puffiness and blotching. I wasn't really sure, but Neimi had suggested it, and if there was anyone who knew about cleaning up after crying, it was Neimi. Though she didn't cry as much as she used to. "After everything… though, then again, maybe it's just another thing that went wrong."

"We've had a hard year." A year. Just a year. I almost couldn't believe it. "Was it Lyon again?"

"It was." She bit her lip, her face scrunching up slightly. Then she relaxed. "I just… he was screaming and yet, I ignored it."

"He was screaming, and his father told him to shut up." I thought of what Knoll had said. About how Lyon had wanted to tell Ephraim and Eirika. I half-wondered if he had wanted to tell them about the other things, but thought it made him weak. Weaker. "There's a lot of things that went wrong with him. And some of those things are _his_ fault."

"Logically, I know that, but emotionally…" Emotions were a bitch like that. "I'm so tired."

"I know." I set the rag down and hugged her, kissing her hair when she tucked herself under my chin. After a moment of just holding her, I decided to divert the subject slightly. "So, curious, is any of this puffiness due to staying up late looking through Gleipnir?" I looked pointedly at the tome sitting on the bed. Gleipnir, the tome that bound the darkness… it used the shadows to slip through enemy guard and protect the wielder from magic, according to the stories. If those same stories were true, though, then its full might could only be brought out when the wielder was uninjured. "You've been flipping through. You want to use it?"

"No, of course not. Someone of Grado should wield it, and I have Sieglinde anyway." She shook her head. "Knoll has agreed to wield it for us." Because Knoll had decided to join up with our crazy little… our crazy army. "I just… I wondered if by looking through it, I could find some sort of answer? Or maybe even just some little note from Lyon tucked away."

"Well, it wouldn't have been the first time." I was still unnerved by the journal he had apparently left in Ivroria, and the book he had supposedly been reading here. It felt like too much to be a coincidence. "It's going to be okay, Emma."

"I hope so." She sighed. "I want to see him again. I want to apologize. I want to give him a hug. I want to have a nice long talk."

"Of course." So long as it was _actually_ Lyon and not… well… "I'm sure he wants it too."

After our little talk, Saleh and I had silently agreed to not say anything to anyone else about what we suspected. It was probably stupid, especially since Ephraim and I had just argued about me hiding potentially important information, but… but we didn't want to be right. And telling other people made it seem more 'real'. More certain. Neither of us wanted that. If only for the sake of the people we loved (no matter how much Saleh refused to admit it) and the people around us. So, we kept silent, silently praying we were very, very wrong.

I held Eirika a while longer before she pulled away to blow her nose again and we went back to work cleaning her face and reducing how splotchy she looked. Once her face was as clean as we could make it, I walked her over to her next destination, some meeting or other. I didn't know much about it, only that Tana was in the same meeting, and so I didn't have to worry about Eirika being left alone.

However, it did lead to other worries, so before Tana disappeared into the room, I tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "You doing okay?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet. I didn't want others to overhear. "You've been watching both Eirika and Cormag these past few days."

"I seem to be doing fine for now," Tana reassured. The phrasing made me smile and relax, because it felt genuine. "I'll let you know if I'm getting overwhelmed, though."

"Let's go for a flight later."

"Sounds good~!" She smiled warmly and I smiled back. "See you later, then!"

She skipped inside, shutting the door behind her, and I walked away, wondering just what to do now. After a moment, I decided to go to the library and hunt through the history section, wondering if there was anything more substantial than simple stories and legends about the Heroes and the first war with the Demon King. Or, more specifically, about how Latona survived being the Demon King's vessel when others supposedly didn't. Sure, I could ask Myrrh, but again, speaking of it made it feel _real_ , and I didn't want it to be real. I really didn't want it to be real. Even doing research was skirting the line. But I couldn't just wander around doing nothing.

It didn't surprise me that Saleh had the same idea. While he had more duties than me, on top of teaching people magic, he still had quite a bit of free time. And based on the pile of books he had on the table next to him, he'd been here for a while. He glanced up as soon as I stepped into the history section, as unsurprised as I was, and we both smiled wanly at each other. This was all just ridiculous, like a story where everything went wrong. And yet, it seemed to be the direction our lives were taking now.

"Here," Saleh murmured, pulling out one of the books from his pile and handing it over. The book was old enough that the title was faded on the cover. "I was planning on going through this one next."

"Yeah, I'll read it," I whispered. However, a glance around showed the library was a very contained place, and if I was going to read something like this… "Is it okay if I read outside? I think I need the wind."

"Yes, it should be fine." He went back to his reading. "Let me know if…"

"Of course."

I left quickly, eager to be outside now that I had the thought in my head. And, as I knew I would, I felt immediately better as soon as I stepped out of the gates of the castle. I took a moment to breathe deep, enjoying the cool breeze, and then I headed for the fields near the garden and courtyard, since the wyverns often sunbathed there. And, sure enough, both Brynhildr and Genarog were there, lounging about and apparently 'talking' with Myrrh, since she was there babbling away, and then nodding along as if she was listening to their replies.

"Oh, Emma!" However, she noticed me easily and smiled. "They were just talking about how worried they've been over you and Cormag," she told me happily. Brynhildr growled, and looked away, like I did when embarrassed. Genarog flat-out _fled_. "Oh, right. I wasn't supposed to say that. Oops."

"I'm sure we'd figure it out due to a mountain of carcasses, again," I joked, petting Brynhildr's nose. She crooned and leaned up to nuzzle me before laying back down, head resting on her arms. "What are they worried about?"

"Valter." And there went my good mood. "Genarog worries that Cormag will get himself killed trying to fight whoever this bad man is. Brynhildr is worried he'll get _you_ killed."

"I see." I sat down next to Myrrh, setting the book in my lap. "Well, I suppose that's why Cormag and I have our wyverns. They're clearly the smart ones of the duos, most of the time."

"I suppose." Myrrh suddenly giggled. "Brynhildr says it is _all_ the time."

"Then I am going to remind Brynhildr she nearly got me killed back in Carcino because she got mad I denied her a kill and jumped on ballistae surrounded by enemies in order to work off the anger." I made sure my tone was as dry as possible, and Myrrh giggled again while Brynhildr grumbled behind me. "Is that all that's worrying them?"

"Well, Brynhildr knows something has you upset, but she doesn't know what."

"Oh?" I leaned back against Brynhildr and petted her flank. "There's a lot going on, unfortunately. The battle didn't end up going anywhere like we had wanted." And nowhere near _close_ to how we had hoped. I know many of us hoped that the battle here would be the last one. But now, we knew more were coming and there was actually a chance that we'd be in nothing _but_ war. "A lot of us are down because of it."

"That is true. Saleh has been extra quiet recently. And that is saying something." She sighed, and I glanced at the book. "Everyone's hearts are heavy. They're not quite discordant, but the 'song' makes me sad. I much prefer when the songs are happy."

"They will be that again, one day."

"I hope it's soon."

Apparently deciding that was enough talk, Myrrh curled up next to me and dozed off quickly, her head resting in my lap. I rested one hand on her head and flipped open the book with the other to read it and see if there was anything but nonsense in it. Brynhildr shifted a bit to better support my back and leaned around to nuzzle my cheek and croon, in an effort to lighten my mood. But not even she could do that.

Doing things just to be doing things… it was just like the days after Monica died. I hated it.

* * *

"Petal, you sure you've been okay?" Joshua asked me suddenly. I was in the middle of helping him tally up repaired armor to make sure no pieces were missing, and it took me a few moments to switch from 'is that the _same_ piece of armor or a _different_ one?' to 'he asked me something?'. "You've been off lately."

"I've just been horribly worried, brother," I replied, rubbing at my eyes. And then checking to make sure I didn't rub ink on them. "The fight here didn't exactly end as hoped."

"True and it's also hard to say that we've 'won' the war with Grado when there's still two generals unaccounted for." He held out his hand, and I checked my list one more time before handing it to him. "The worst two, at that."

"Exactly." Both Valter and Riev were missing, with no clues as to where they were. And all the soldiers they had with them were equally missing. It was driving Innes up the wall that he couldn't seem to find them. "Not to mention Vigarde and the Demon King and… everything."

"And 'everything' seems to sum it up." He sighed and reached up like he was going to adjust his hat. But he didn't wear it anymore. He hadn't since his mother died. And that alone told me I hadn't been imagining how 'off' _he_ had been.

"You've been conflicted over something too." I looked up at him, both asking to change the subject and because I was worried. "Is it the same thing as me?"

"More or less, but also…" He hesitated, looking over the lists as he thought. "Well, it's Lyon."

"About what Knoll told us?"

"Yes. Because based on that information, then the logical conclusion is that _Lyon_ was the on who tempted Carlyle and led to… everything that happened in Jehanna." Joshua glanced at me, expression unreadable. "And we already know he was near there. He was technically in charge."

"Ah…" That… that was a good point. I hadn't thought about that. "Oh."

"And then, the next logical conclusion is that Lyon was _also_ the one who tempted Orson and brought back your sister. And we know that he was in Ivroria at one point anyway, since he killed Fado." Because, of course, word of that had spread. Seth had confirmed it, but stated that according to Frelia's spies, it had been a _mercy-kill_. Innes had been annoyed that his father hadn't passed that information on; Tana thought it was because Innes had no tact and Hayden was trying to 'protect' Ephraim and Eirika. "Do you have a different conclusion than me?"

"...I feel like there's still answers we haven't reached yet." I knelt down and began piling the armor pieces into their box. "And so, I'm not entirely sure Lyon really is the one, you know?" If Saleh and I were right, then it was just… someone I didn't want to admit… using Lyon's body and I couldn't say Lyon was at fault in that case. "So much we've assumed or guessed has been totally wrong, after all. And so much about this conflict has defied logic."

"Now that's very true. Carlyle was one thing, and I'm sure Orson was another." His eyes were dark, however. "Certainly do see just what it takes to make a person lose their morals, when war and temptation come."

There wasn't really a reply to that. So, we both kept silent as we checked the lists one more time and packed everything up. Once we confirmed it to the best of our abilities, he went to drop of the lists with Innes, and have whatever meeting they were having, and I carried the box of armor-pieces over to the practice yard. It was heavy, so I had to walk slow, but that was fine with me, because it let me pretend for longer that I was actually _doing_ something. Though I was so focused on not dropping the stupidly heavy thing on my feet that I almost didn't notice that the practice yard was occupied. By Ephraim.

Instinctively, I hid, setting the box down to the side so that I didn't have to carry it anymore and wondering just what I should do. I needed to take the box further in, but I didn't… I didn't want to… though, at the same time, I _did_ want to talk to him. I missed him. I missed his smile and his laugh. I missed his teasing. So, I peeked inside, debating if I should interrupt his practice, and that was when I noticed something wasn't practicing with a lance. For some reason, he was practicing with an axe. And not just any axe, but _Garm_. Garm, the axe blessed by hell's guardian hound… it was an axe known to boost its wielder's speed, and to somehow become even stronger when encouraged or something by others. All the stories talked of how Garm's truest strength seemed to come out when First-Emperor Grado fought by King Urien.

"So, this is where you ended up." While I was still debating, Duessel walked in, from a different door than the one I was hiding behind. I winced, feeling even more awkward now. Because even if I wasn't going to talk to Ephraim, I _did_ need to drop the box off. "Why exactly you wielding Garm?" he asked dryly, exasperation dripping from every word. I wondered if Ephraim used to 'steal' weapons in the past to practice with. "Switching to that weapon now?"

"No, of course not," Ephraim replied softly. He held Garm out, staring at the bladed part. "I wondered if… well, if I wielded it for a bit, it might… I don't know… impart some answers or something." He laughed mirthlessly. I let myself be briefly amused, and saddened, by how both he and Eirika had the same thought. "However, all it seemed to 'impart' is some muscle strain."

"That's because you're wielding it like a spear, instead of an axe. Axes require a different hold and stance."

"That… makes a lot of since." He smiled bitterly and then held Garm out towards Duessel. "I suppose I should give this to you. You should wield it, after all."

"No, not me." Duessel's reply was instant. Ephraim nearly dropped Garm out of surprise, but then again, I think everyone had assumed Duessel would wield the Sacred Twin. "Give it to Amelia. I've been training her and she's equally skilled in lances and axes."

"Amelia?"

"Yes." Duessel nodded, gaze sure and certain. "She is of Grado, and she is skilled. More importantly, though, she is young. She represents the future of Grado, and it is the future who should wield the legendary weapons." Duessel smiled warmly. "Old men like me are better suited to giving advice and guarding."

"You're not _that_ old Duessel. You'll probably out…" Ephraim trailed off, closing his eyes. "Ha… I once made that joke about Father."

"Since I have lost one person I thought of as a son, and almost lost a daughter, I can say with certainty that Fado would be very glad to have not outlived you or Princess Eirika." Duessel looked down briefly before shaking his head. "Well, I suppose that's as good of a lead-in as I'll probably get for why I actually came looking for you." He made himself smile. "I know I'm unmarried, but I have had my fair share of relationships in the past. I can give you advice for whatever is wrong with you and Lady Emma."

"Huh?" Ephraim's seriousness disappeared in a heartbeat. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"

"The fact that you're using your very little free time to swing an axe you have no intention of actually using instead of seeking her out, like you normally do." Duessel grinned, this time more genuine, and Ephraim looked away sheepishly. "Typically, you're _running_ for wherever she is."

"I don't run!" Ephraim colored briefly before grumbling something else under his breath. "You won't let this go, will you?" He rolled his eyes when Duessel just continued grinning. "It's… well, Emma and I had an argument about…" Ephraim paused. "Well, not 'stupid' exactly, but…"

"How did that happen?"

"I… it probably wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been such a long day." Ephraim closed his eyes. "Leading the assault… fighting Vigarde… learning that Vigarde truly was a corpse being puppeted… Vigarde killing himself in front of me… that entire conversation with Lyon…" He sighed, raking his hand through his hair. "Being happy to finally see him again, only for him to tell me about how he killed my father and… well, we've already discussed it."

"We have, yes."

" _Then_ I saw Emma shoot Lyon. I think to protect me, but still…" Ephraim shrugged helplessly. I winced, because I hadn't even _thought_ about that. "Then I realized she wasn't surprised by the news that Lyon killed Father. She already knew. And I..."

"You lashed out, she snapped back, probably both of you brought up things that you should've been calmer when actually talking about…" Duessel nodded, like he understood. "Here, tell me more about the actual argument."

"Well…"

I left. Even though I knew I needed to carry the box further inside, I left it where it was and left the area. I just couldn't eavesdrop anymore. It hurt. It hurt so much. And I didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation, just in case. Just in case of what? I had no idea. I just couldn't…

"Ah!" And because my mind was so caught up in 'just in case', I didn't pay attention to where I was going and ran straight into someone. Natasha to be specific. "Goodness, that startled me," she murmured, smiling gently. It faded slightly when she got a good look at my face, however. "Emma, what's wrong?" She touched my cheek and tilted my face more towards her to better study me. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really," I replied. Knowing she'd know that was a lie, I shrugged. "My mind is just whirling due to everything." And that made it not-a-lie, technically. "Hey, is there anything I can do to help? Preferably outside?"

"Mmm… well, L'arachel was just about to head out to gather herbs." She studied my expression a little longer and nodded before hugging me. "You know I am here to listen, right?"

"I know." I leaned into her and closed my eyes. "I just want some air to settle my heart some."

"Of course." She pulled away and cupped my face. "Come on. We can still catch her."

"Thank you."

L'arachel was more than happy to have company for herb gathering, and cheerily led the way out of the city and into the nearby woods. And, before long, she actually had me laughing. And not just laughing, but a good, hard laugh, the kind that made your belly ache and your eyes tear up. Why was I laughing? Because L'arachel was ranting and rambling about Innes because he claimed that Frelia was more spectacular and beautiful than Rausten.

"Can you _believe_ the gall of that man?" she huffed, stomping her food on a tree root before kneeling down to pick some plants near it. I was leaning against the same tree because I was laughing too hard to stand up straight. "Honestly! Anyone with eyes would know different!"

"I can't breathe…!" I wheezed, still laughing far too hard. I was sure she was doing this on purpose. "Ah, okay.. Breathing. Breathing is good."

"Typically, yes, it is." She giggled, eyes dancing with mischief. Yes, she was _definitely_ doing this on purpose. "But that is only a healer's opinion."

"Meanie!" It took more than a few deep breaths before I finally felt like I had some semblance of control over my lungs. "Gods, I think I needed that."

"We all have. So, I've been doing what I can." She giggled again, bouncing on her toes. "It's a bit easier for me, because I'm so far removed. Rausten has been relatively safe in this conflict thus far. I don't trust that to continue, of course, but my heart hurts because others are hurting, not because of any wounds on it directly."

"That's…" I couldn't think of the word I wanted. And I felt a bit guilty, feeling so overwhelmed. Then again, I had never been a moodmaker in the group. Just a food-maker. "L'arachel, what do you think about all of this?" She was the one who first brought up how the Demon King probably had a vessel of some kind. Maybe she had... "With Lyon and everything."

"It's really quite sad, isn't it?" She shook her head, some curls falling out from her ribbons. Her expression, however, hinted that she hadn't made the same connection Saleh and I had, probably because she was more focused on keeping spirits up. "I have long prayed for him, of course, but now I make a special prayer, just for him, in the hopes that the gods might have mercy and spare him from further hurt." She smiled gently, with none of her usual bombastic air. "I would like to meet him _properly_ as well. I would love to see the person Eirika and Ephraim befriended."

"...I would too." I felt like the 'ghost-like' Lyon was the closest, but even then… "Stoicness equally strength is such bullshit, isn't it?"

"I think so too. Hiding a wound leads to you bleeding out or dying from infection." She sighed, bringing her hand up towards her chest like her heart was hurting. "And I can't blame him in the slightest, even though so much harm has resulted. Knowing that your people were doomed because of something far outside your control, unable to find a way to make things better on your own and being told that you couldn't reach out for help, and _then_ losing your father? Gods, people go mad for lesser reasons. If anything, that it took such a drastic combination shows how strong of spirit he is. Rather like you."

"...Uh…" Didn't expect that one. "I'm flattered by the compliment, but I'm not sure why you think I'm that strong."

"I think most of the army is, truthfully. That is why we keep going, despite everything that has happened. After all, not everyone has my belief in righteousness prevailing, even though that _is_ what happens. Eventually." Now she smiled brightly. "For the gods do love us, and even though they might not always do the right thing, they do their best by us."

"So, what's your thought on that disaster?" That… that had to be rude to ask.

"That could be a number of things. It could be due to the Demon King. It could be that the earth itself has been trying to endure its pain stoically, and it can do so no longer." She became thoughtful, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief that she took it with her usual nonchalant air. "It could also be the consequences of a mistake, and when they tried to fix it by giving Prince Lyon the vision…"

"I see." I chuckled, unable to help it. "You would think after everything I've seen and survived that I'd have a little more faith in them." Particularly since I had called on the story of them loving those with my coloring quite a few times.

"That's what makes them wonderful, though. They love and help everyone, even those who are not so certain." She suddenly gasped and pointed to something down the way. "Oh! Look at those flowers!" She skipped over to a patch of flowers blooming not far away, ones a beautiful pale-lavender. "We should get some!" And, of course, she went to pick one without bothering to see if there was anything sharp or pointy. "Ow…!" Like thorns.

"That's why you look first, silly." I unbuckled my right gauntlet and pulled out a bit of medicine to dab some on her now-bleeding finger. It got her _good_. "You got a handkerchief or something on you? There's supposed to be a river not far from here, so I can wet it and actually get the wound clean."

"Yes, of course." She pulled one out of her pocket with her not-bleeding hand. "Thank you, Emma."

"No problem."

I was right. The river wasn't far, though it was out of sight. When I got near the shore, I decided to take off my boots and wade in a little so that I got water-water and not muddy-water. Just a little, though. After all, I remembered how my last encounter with a Grado river went and even if I got Brynhildr from it, I wasn't in a hurry to repeat said encounter. Still, the water was delightfully cool, and I thought that once we got L'arachel's finger cleaned, we could splash about a bit and play, just to try to relax and unwind. It might even be fun to bring Eirika and Tana out here. Or even all the girls. Just to have something to do besides wandering a silent castle in a mourning city and-

"Hello there, pretty one." One arm wrapped around me like a vice, and another hand slammed over my mouth. I immediately bit the hand and tried to struggle out, but whoever had me laughed at my attempts. "Yes, fight. It makes it all so much fun…!" And that was when I recognized the voice. Valter. Valter had me. That made me struggle all the more, and I finally thought to scream, but Valter had me off my feet and onto someone's wyvern before I could get away. And, worse, the wyvern launched into the air far too quickly for me to even attempt to get off and we actually flew _through_ a few branches, one of which hit me hard enough in the head to daze me.

"Emma? Emma?!" L'arachel called. Through the branches and leaves, I could barely see her frantically looked around the river. "Emma?!"

"L'arachel!" I screamed down. She jerked her head up, eyes widening. "L'arachel, tell the others! Valter is-gck!" And a rough piece of rope was forced into my mouth and tied behind my head, gagging me. "MMPH!" Still, I tried to fight, so that I could shout more or maybe even get off.

"Oh, pretty one, you really shouldn't struggle," Valter 'suggested', flying near. He wasn't on Evaicrag. I wondered why before realizing in horror that it had to be so that Brynhildr and Genarog didn't notice. After all, if Brynhildr could sense where Evaicrag was, then surely Evaicrag could do the same with her. "You'll make quite a horrendous splat if you fall from this height and that wouldn't be very fun, now would it?" He nodded to the other knight who had me. "If she falls, I will tear your organs out one by one. Now, follow."

As we flew away, I heard L'arachel's desperate screams echo on the wind, even long after Grado Castle was out of sight. This… I messed up. And gods, this was bad.

* * *

When we camped that night, they bound my hands behind my back and bound up my legs. They never left me alone, sending women soldiers with me whenever I had to go to the bathroom. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't wriggle the ropes loose. In fact, they tied them even tighter to make sure of it, and I could feel the blood making the ropes stickier on my legs. And they only removed the gag to shove food and water in me. All the while, Valter watched, chuckling and clearly taking quite a bit of delight at how helpless I was. It was enough to make me nauseous. My one hope was the fact that I had my gauntlets, but even that was useless because I couldn't get the buckles. And I knew the longer I was with them, the less likely that I'd escape before something happened. It was Valter, after all, and between the majority of the group being wyvern knights and us ending up in some old, abandoned fort in Jehanna, that nauseous feeling only increased.

Valter carried me inside, thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and opened the door to a room that might've been a study once. Now, it was apparently my 'cell' since Valter threw me in. Literally. Though I landed hard on my side, hard enough to see stars, I still twisted to glare at him. Though, given how excited he looked, I probably should've feigned compliance. But that would be too smart for me.

"Yes, your defiance really is quite _fun_ ," he chuckled, walking slowly towards me. He then crouched down and tilted my face up slightly. "I've quite enjoyed this hunt. I spent so long watching and waiting for the perfect moment when you were alone and unguarded. Waiting for that momentary weakness. Such delight."

'Fuck off!' I tried to snap back at him, but the rope in my mouth mumbled it into nothing more than random noises. My jaws ached from having it in for so long, but I wouldn't show it. So, since I couldn't voice my anger, I tried to kick him. I failed horribly.

"Yes, so much fun. But it would be a waste to simply end the hunt right here, yes? After all, I wonder what sort of face Ephraim would make if he saw you screaming and moaning at my hands? Would the little mouse roar like a lion again? Would he squeak and run? The thought is intriguing." He caressed my cheek, and laughed when I tried to kick him again. "And what would Eirika think? Would her beautiful face light up with rage? Would it shatter from guilt? I am simply far too curious about both." He smirked, eyes glinting. I felt sick again. Bait. I was bait. This was even worse than I thought. "Hmm… but they might take too long… I should think of something to do in the meantime. Something to keep me _satisfied_ …"

Chuckling, he left the room then, leaving me alone with the implied threat, and the knowledge that as soon as he thought the army was close enough, he was going to 'play' with me until I was wishing for death. And both were almost enough to make me curl up in a little ball and weep. But I would not, would _not_ , let a twisted person like him harm my world. So, instead, I decided to continue looking for some way to escape. Sadly, nothing was immediately apparent, so I struggled to get up, using the wall since I couldn't use my hands. Then I hopped over to the window curiously, to get a view of my surroundings. Sand, sand, and more sand, and we were near the Vrep, which had some sticks fencing something in, for some reason. Nothing I could really use to hide from fliers, though if I was fast enough… well, we'd have to see. I wasn't going to just accept my fate.

So, I hopped-turned back towards the room, nearly falling because it was difficult to balance when you were bound, and focused on the desk on the other side of the room. After taking a moment to catch my breath, I hopped over to it, actually falling this time. But I scooched my way over, wondering if this was what worms felt like when they wriggled about, and braced myself against the desk to stand up again. I had to take another break to catch my breath; moving about like this was a trying experience I never wanted to go through again. Ever.

As soon as I had my breath again, I used my shoulder to try and wipe some of the sweat off my face and began hunting through the drawers of the desk. It was an awkward and slow experience, because I had to twist and look over my shoulder while opening and rifling through, leading to a horrible ache in my side and neck. But it was all worth it when I found a letter opener and, even better, it was actually sharp. It took a couple of tries to actually grab it in a way that I could actually start cutting the rope, and it was an agonizingly slow process (because the opener wasn't _knife_ -sharp, just sharp). I had to actually sit down part way through because my feet and legs began aching. All of me was aching. But the thought of Valter using me to hurt my friends was enough to keep me going, and I struggled and pulled on the ropes until, finally, my hands were free.

I almost cried from relief, but I knew I didn't have the time. Instead, I unbuckled the compartment of my gauntlet to pull out my knife, thanking the gods that no one had ever thought to take them from me, and cut the ropes around my ankles. They were so tight that I actually cut myself a bit, but I had other worries. Like how tight the rope-turned-gag was tied behind my head. After a few seconds of frustration, I just cut it off too, catching my cheek with the blade.

I coughed, greedily sucking in air, glad to be unbound at last. But I knew I had a long way to go and no time to let myself savor this 'victory'. Keeping a grip on the dagger, I crawled over to the door to listen through. No sound. I tentatively opened the door. No one near. I wondered why, before deciding it was Valter's arrogance making him do stupid things. A stroke of luck I refused to waste, so I darted out of the room, doing my best to keep to alcoves and shadows. My heart was pounding, far worse than any battle I had been in. Probably because most of the time, battles only meant death. Valter meant far, far worse.

"I had wondered what would happen if I left you alone, but you've far exceeded my expectations." And like the thought had summoned him, Valter appeared behind me, snagging my hair and using it to pull me back towards him. His other arm wrapped around my shoulders. "Oh, how I want to break you…" he breathed in my ear. My skin crawled. He'd said the same thing the first time I saw him, and I almost froze from the memory. "Maybe I should…" However, I _didn't_ freeze, thanks to all the training Seth put me through, and I still had my dagger. So, quickly, I flipped it around and stabbed him in the stomach. "Gh…!" And, thankfully, that was enough for him to let go of me.

Deciding that stealth was out the window screaming at this point, I bolted down the hall, running as fast as I could. Valter's screaming curses echoed behind me, pushing me to run even faster because if I was caught… well, I wasn't going to think on it. And, thankfully, I had surprise on my side. No one expected Valter to be screeching, and no one expected for their prisoner to have actually escaped. Nor did they expect her to climb out the window instead of going through the front door, but I did as soon as I found a window that didn't lead to a horribly long drop. The sand under my bare feet was coarse and burning, but I ignored it to run for the Vrep, thinking that if I was going to have any sort of chance, it was going to involve getting across the river.

I made it all the way to the shore when the first of pursuers began chasing after me, people just on foot. Fear flooded me anyway, and, after returning my dagger to its gauntlet-sheath, I actually jumped _into_ the water, which was probably stupid considering my last encounter with a river. Especially since the current was strong. However, it wasn't _as_ strong, since I could keep my bearings easily. I did end up much farther down the shore than I had intended, but honestly, that was only a blessing. The Vrep flowed north to south, and if I was in Jehanna, then Grado was south. The army was south. My friends were south. So, it was really just pushing me closer to my destination, even if I was horribly waterlogged and half-drowned when I finally pulled myself out, the sand sticking awkwardly to my skin and clothes.

"We can't cross!" "Let's use these logs!" My pursuers argued this way and that, but 'logs' made me curious. Too curious. So I stopped my mad-running to look back and I saw that the 'logs' weren't moving down the river as they should've, given the current I had just experienced. I wondered why that was, but then I looked at that strange fencing and remembered Mom's stories about growing up in Jehanna. Specifically about how some parts of the Vrep were 'fenced in' so that people could gather water with less risk of being eaten by crocodiles. Which meant those logs were…

I turned away and began running again just as the first crocodile revealed itself and began attacking the soldiers. No need to watch someone be eaten alive today, after all. I had to get as much distance as I could before the wyverns came out. It was my only chance.

* * *

The sun was brutal. The heat was unbearable. But I kept limping along the shore until I found a rock formation… thing that provided both shade and cover. Then I hid there, making myself as small as possible, and rested. I almost fell asleep, but I pinched myself to stay awake. I couldn't sleep. Not until I knew I was safe from pursuers. So, I stayed awake, aching from how tense I was. My skin was already peeling from a sunburn. My feet throbbed. And it still took me a while to remember I had medicine in my other gauntlet, which I quickly used on my cuts, hoping I'd gotten it on before infection set in. It was possible I hadn't.

Shadows flew over the sand just as I finished getting the last of it on, and I pushed myself even further back under the rocks, the sharp edges digging into my back. I held my breath, watching the shadows. One, two, three… I made it to seven before I stopped counting, too scared. I remembered how Cormag had noted the lack of wyvern knights during the battle; I remembered suggesting they were with Valter. Or maybe he had mentioned it. Everything was all twisted in my head, but it seemed we were right. They _were_ all here with him. I wondered why, since I doubted Valter had the charisma to lead them. Though fear was an effective motivator as well. I knew that all too well, especially right now.

I wasn't really sure how long I stayed scrunched up under and against the rocks. I stayed there long after the shadows passed, afraid that they would fly past again. But, eventually, night fell, and I crawled out of my hiding place to run down the river's edge again. However, after the earlier run, literally days of being bound, and then being stuck in one position for hours on end, my legs couldn't really take the strain. They shook and throbbed, unable to keep balance for anything, especially on such uneven terrain. Still, I did my best to continue on, one stumbling and sliding step at a time, and hugged myself to try and keep warm since desert nights were freezing and I was still wet from my earlier 'swim'. I knew I couldn't stop. I had to keep going. I had to put as much distance between me and the fort as possible, especially on this first night. Even though I was so exhausted that I couldn't even really feel my limbs.

I nearly screamed when I caught a shadow flying overhead, and I frantically looked for some place to hide, _any_ place. If I was caught, I'd long for death within seconds of being brought back. I knew that. So, I had to hide. However, a gentle croon pierced through the fog of panic in my head. A croon I knew all too well. A croon I'd _always_ know. And I was probably just hallucinating it, but… but I...

"Brynhildr?" I called weakly, voice shaking. Immediately, I heard another croon and then my wyvern, my Brynhildr, landed softly in front of me, her wings enveloping me in a 'hug'. She must've been circling around to not kick up sand. "Brynhildr…!" I hugged her tightly and she not-purred and nuzzled me. "How did you find me so quickly?" She tossed her head back, towards her back, and I saw no saddle on her. And since she was alone, then she must've come after me as soon as she could've. Maybe within minutes of my capture. "I hope you didn't break the stall."

Shakily, I tried to pull myself up on her back, but I slipped and fell in the sand, coughing hard and struggling to breath. I was too tired to even attempt it. Too tired and too weak. But Brynhildr seemed to have seemed to have expected that, because she helped me onto my feet using her nose and legs, and then let me use her as a crutch as we walked a bit away from the Vrep. I wondered why, but then saw the shadows of a nearby oasis. She must've noted it on the way, no doubt because it was a good place to camp and rest. Either for herself, or for me. It didn't matter. What _did_ was that it was shade, relatively nice shelter, and with Brynhildr near, I knew I wouldn't have to worry about wild animals.

I nearly collapsed as soon as we made it to the oasis, barely able to push myself up enough to drink a bit of water. I half-wondered about food, but decided that could wait. I was too tired, and couldn't move anymore. So, instead, I crawled over to Brynhildr, and she laid down to curl around me protectively, even draping her wing over me. I smiled at her and closed my eyes… and then the next thing I knew, it was early morning, and time to move again.

* * *

My leg got infected. My face didn't, but my leg did. I noticed it two days after Brynhildr found me. I probably got something in it when I jumped in the Vrep and avoided being eaten by the crocodiles, or when I fell in the mud by the oasis. Brynhildr helped me where she could, but since she didn't have a saddle, I couldn't stay on her long. I didn't know how. I knew Glen had. I'd ask Cormag to teach me, if I saw him again.

We stopped at another oasis, and while Brynhildr used her bulk and wings to keep me shaded, I put more medicine on my leg, hoping it might delay the effects of the infection. Seemed to work. No red streaks or anything. Just a bit of pus that showed up earlier today. I tried to think of the classic signs of infection, but my mind was too fuzzy to think of anything besides 'heat' or 'swelling'. Besides, there were other things to worry about. I was low on medicine.

Sighing, I attempted to return the vial to my glove, but missed its little compartment in the compartment, so it rolled into the water instead. I thought about retrieving it, but leaning forward just made me dizzy. So, instead, I scooped out some water with my hand and sipped it. And winced when I saw my reflection. I was _badly_ sunburnt. Redder than my hair. I was covered in blisters. I was peeling. I hurt. I was nauseous. I was dizzy. I did my best to keep hydrated, but there wasn't a lot of water because I had no way to carry it. Brynhildr did what she could to keep me shaded, but if it wasn't the heat, it was the chill. The sharp differences in temperature. And my stiff-from-mud, ragged-from-falling clothes not being suited for either extreme.

I leaned back against Brynhildr, staring blankly at the cloudy sky. I wondered if I should've stayed. I would've had to deal with Valter and being bait, but I could've actually spent time making a better escape. Coordinated something with Brynhildr when she found me. But no, I had to leave _then_. I had to be stupid, be reckless, to protect my world. I had thought I'd matured a little bit, but I hadn't. I was still the same village girl who made stupid choices when those she loved were in danger.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, staring into nothing. Long enough that I knew I should've moved ages ago, but it was just getting so hard to move. Everything felt heavy. So, it was a bit odd when I thought I heard someone call my name. 'Emma.' Or, really, more like 'Emma!'. And it sounded almost like Tana. No, not even 'almost'. It sounded so much like her that my heart ached and added just a little more pain to everything I felt. Especially when I heart it a second time.

"I'm hallucinating," I whispered, my voice raspy despite having just drank water. Brynhildr, however, raised her head and growled happily. "Wait, is that Tana?" There was no way. We were nowhere near Grado at this point. "Tana?" I tried to call out, but my voice was weak. There was no way she'd hear it. "Tana…!" I tried again, but my throat hurt. I sounded like a dying mouse. "Brynhildr?"

Brynhildr nuzzled me and then roared loudly. So loud it made the trees shake. Or maybe that was my dizziness. But that didn't matter because almost immediately afterwards, a pegasus landed next to us, _and I saw Tana_.

"Found you!" she cheered, rushing over to hug me. It was gentle, no doubt because she noticed the sunburn. "Cormag! Over here! Genarog was right! They're over here!" Tana suddenly burst into tears. "Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried!"

"Tana…?" I croaked. Shakily, I reached up to try and hug her back, but all I managed, really, was get one hand to weakly grip her shirt. But that was enough to let me know she was no fever-dream or anything. "How did…?"

"Brynhildr knew something was wrong, so Cormag let her out and then went searching for you. Then L'arachel came back and told us what happened, so we've been using Genarog's weird ability… thing to track Brynhildr to figure out where you were." She pulled away, still crying, but also beaming. "He kept circling around, so… oh, I'm so glad…"

"Sorry to cause trouble…"

"Silly, you're supposed to worry when friends are in trouble." She giggled. "Besides, you can't be the only one who goes to rescue friends."

"Ha… I suppose so."

"Emma!" And then Genarog and Cormag arrived. Genarog actually landed partly in the water, splashing everywhere, but Cormag was out of the saddle and running towards us without a care. "Well, you look rough, but nowhere near like I feared," he whispered, resting a hand on my back. When Tana pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine, and I noticed how cold he felt. "You've a fever. We'll get you back to the others. They're not far."

"Can you teach me how to ride bareback?" I asked. My mind just jumped everywhere, more than half-certain that this was just a fever dream. But it was a nice one. "Glen knows. Knew. Oops, I mean, General Glen knew. So… um…"

"One, you can call him by his name, silly, and two, I will _definitely_ teach you as soon as the healers won't hurt me for it."

"Okay." And then my mind jumped to another thing. "I stabbed Valter." For some reason, it felt important to say. "Not sure where exactly. But I did."

"I'm sure he deserved it." He scooped me up easily, cradling me gently. "Tana, you go on ahead and tell them. Achaeus is faster. I'll be there as soon as I have Emma safely settled in the saddle."

"You got it," Tana replied. She bent down to kiss my cheek, without a hint of revulsion or anything, despite the peeling. "Just endure a little longer, Emma. It's all okay now."

I mumbled something in return, but it felt like mush in my mouth. But no one seemed to mind. Tana held me while Cormag mounted up and then helped Cormag get me settled before flying off. Brynhildr growled and whined, but Genarog gently butted her head in what I thought was a reassuring gesture, like kitty cats. Or something. And then… well, from my perspective, we were suddenly flying through the air, with the air 'sharp' for the first time in a long while. However, Cormag shielded me as best as he could, and Genarog didn't travel his top speed. I knew because Brynhildr kept up and Genarog was faster. I distantly thought it was for protection; Brynhildr could fight far more freely at the moment.

We flew for a while. I didn't know how long. Everything was hazy-hazy-hazy. But we flew, and then we landed, and then as soon as we landed, Cormag handed me to someone, someone who held me gently and carefully. Curious, I pried my eyes open and saw Ephraim looking worriedly at me. "Well, hey there, handsome," I jokingly greeted, smiling slightly. He smiled back, fondly exasperated at me. "You moved quick."

"Left the same day," he explained. That… part of me was embarrassed, but another part was touched. The rest of me was annoyed. "Off to the infirmary for you."

"Yay." I tucked myself against his chest, still smiling slightly even as I closed my eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too. We'll talk later, okay?"

And then I was carried away. Through the camp. I heard murmurs and gasps, and sounds of relief or horror or whatever. I was sure most were silent, but I couldn't hear them obviously. I wondered if any were annoyed that they had to move because I got captured. Maybe they gave a different explanation. I didn't know, and honestly, I was too exhausted to care. I just let the noise wash over me. That is until I heard a little bit of arguing over my head and then I was passed to yet another person. The smell of frankincense told me it was Joshua. And he quickly carried me into the infirmary, based on the smell of disinfectant. And set me down on a bed based on the soft cloth.

"Oh, good, it looks like we're more dealing with exposure than what I feared." That was Natasha, and she gently stroked the hair out of my face. "Someone should let Tethys know, since I know she was horribly worried."

"I'll let her know, since it doesn't look like I'm needed. After all, it seems petal traded wyvern bites for sun poisoning and heat stroke." And there was Joshua. "I'll can stay if you need to fetch something."

"Someone. L'arachel will want to tend to her." A rustle of cloth, and I assumed it was Natasha leaving. Everything was disjointed, really.

I thought about just keeping my eyes shut, but I heard a bit of a Prayer Song, so I cracked open my eyes and smiled. "No need to involve them, brother," I rasped. My vision was blurry, but I could see him well enough to see he was both worried and amused. "I didn't escape just to die in the infirmary."

"Well, it can't hurt," he replied, taking my hand and squeezing it. "What is it with you and weird situations?"

"I don't know, but if you figure it out, let me know so that I can stop it." I sighed, thinking of what led to this all in the first place. "I'm never going herb gathering again."

"Good, because we all decided you're forbidden." He laughed softly. "You might actually find it hard to find time alone for a while."

"I'll deal. Maybe."

"L'arachel will be here shortly." And Natasha was back, and she leaned over me, smiling serenely and warmly. "You just go ahead and sleep, Emma," she told me, brushing the hair out of my face again. Her hand was cold, but it felt nice. "We'll get you fixed up."

I think I mumbled some sort of agreement. I tried, at least. But if Natasha said I'd be okay, then I knew I would be, so I passed out. No need to fight anymore. Someone else would do it for me, so I could rest.

* * *

When I woke up again, I felt… well, not 'fine', but better. I still felt sick, but I wasn't in pain or anything. I just felt like I was recovering from an illness. Which I supposed was true. And my mind wasn't as foggy or anything. Groggy, certainly, but I was awake and coherent enough to see that I wasn't in the infirmary anymore. I was in a bedroom, from the looks of it, one decorated sparsely, but with fresh flowers all over the place. Very beautiful flowers, but none of them looked like geraniums, and I knew I smelled that, so...

"Hey there, little wing." Tethys leaned into view, smiling softly at me. I smiled back, relieved that it had been no dream. And relieved I had a source for the geranium smell, because I knew she liked that perfume. "How are you feeling?" she asked, resting a wet cloth on my forehead. A quick look showed there was a nightstand by the bed, and a chair that she sat in. I wondered how long she'd been here. "Are you hurting?"

"No, I just feel ill," I replied. I thought about sitting up, but decided against it for now. "Where are we?"

"At one of the evacuated forts in Southern Jehanna. Our wonderful leaders are doing their best to map out where Valter might be, based on where you were found."

"It was right by the Vrep. _Right_ by the Vrep. I jumped into it. Which was stupid, because there were crocodiles."

"There's an old story about how the Queen-Goddess of the Dead feeds the souls of the wicked to a crocodile, and there's another about how despite how aggressive they are, they are equally fierce in how protective they are."

"Well, the Queen-Goddess of the Dead supposedly likes us." And given all the damn luck I just had, I figured that it was about time I left an offering or something at a temple. Because given everything, it was probably a good idea to keep the gods on our side, if they were intervening at all. "But I was still lucky."

"Oh, yes, you were." She became serious. "I know what Natasha said, but I want to hear it from you. Did Valter…?"

"No. He threatened, but he wanted to wait until there was an audience." I shuddered, remembering. "I was more bait than anything."

"So, he only kept you bound?"

"He kept me bound and touched my face and hair. And hinted heavily about what he wanted to do." I tried to smile, but it faltered. "It was scary."

"I know. I was in a similar position once. And, like you, I got lucky." She fussed with her earring, glancing off the side as she remembered. "Gerik had thought something was wrong with his employer and rescued me, along with other girls in similar circumstances. It's how he and I met. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Oh, yes." She laughed, smiling fondly. I wondered if I'd be able to look at this incident similarly, in time. "I had seen him before, but you know how rough and stereotypical mercenary he looks. I had thought him the same as the rest, and kept a polite smile whenever we had to interact. That time, though, was the first time I saw who he really was, a kind and moral man."

"Did you fall in love then?"

"No, that was a few years later. But it did lead to me officially joining his group and gave me the opportunity."

"Oh, that's cute…!" And it was. Normally, I'd tease more. I knew I would. However, the realization that I was safe, and what I had escaped… it really hit then. "A-ah…" And I suddenly couldn't stop shaking. I didn't cry. I thought I should, but I didn't. I just shook, and shook so much that I automatically tried to curl up in a little ball. However, Tethys seemed to be expecting some sort of reaction, and removed the wet cloth from my head before gathering me up in her arms. Then she gently rocked me, singing a few songs to soothe me as I slowly calmed and stopped shaking.

"You'll probably have a few of those over the next few days," she murmured, gently stroking my head. I leaned more on her, leeching all the comfort she was offering. "You might have them the rest of your life. It's hard to say. But whenever it happens, you can come to me. At any time, okay?"

"Okay," I murmured. While my first thought was to not bother her, I could admit that this might be something I'd need help with. Like how I had needed help not only with my feelings for Ephraim, but relearning that I did deserve to be happy. "I'll try to not tough it out."

"Good. Because that's probably the worst thing you can do." Tethys continued holding and rocking me, making no move to pull away. Which was nice, because I liked being hugged. Hugs made it feel more _real_. That I really was here.

Eventually, though, the door opened, and to my surprise, Saleh was there, carrying a mug of something in one hand, and a small basket with medicines in the other. "Ah, do I need to step back outside?" he asked gently. I pulled away from Tethys and shook my head. "Very well. Tethys?"

"Yes, time for me to leave so that you can be the healer," Tethys teased, hopping to her feet with a little laugh. She then bent to kiss my cheek. "I'll let people know she's awake~!"

"No visitors yet. But yes, tell them." Saleh stepped to the side, and Tethys danced out the room, even doing a little twirl before shutting the door. "Glad to see she's back in a good mood." He set the basket on the nightstand and passed me the mug. "I thought you might wake soon." I smiled when I saw it was the same drink he'd made me back in Ivroria, after dealing with Orson and Monica. "I'm glad. Any longer, and I might have let Ewan pull those pranks."

"You would not," I easily countered, sipping the drink. Still, that did make me curious. "How long have I been out?"

"It's been about a week since you've returned." He caught my hands so that I didn't drop the mug. My jaw did drop, though. "Some of that was medically induced, though. Moulder and Natasha determined it best for your recovery." He sat in the chair and began arranging medicines on the nightstand. I wondered if I'd have to take all of them. "Normally, you would be under their care, but I'm better at treating things such as exposure compared to them, so I took over once initial treatments were done. To L'arachel's grief, since she feels responsible."

"Valter has apparently been here for a _while_ , so really, I'd like to more ask whoever has been scouting." I took another sip of the drink, letting the spices settle my nerves. "Has… has there been anything from him?"

"Not yet. But he showed his hand when he took you."

"That's what he wants." I shuddered, remembering the words, and took a big gulp of my drink. It scalded my tongue, but I didn't care. "I was bait."

"Poor bait, since you didn't stay where you were supposed to." He smiled slightly and, tentatively, I smiled back. "We had to head north anyway. We had to confront Valter. Perhaps it was sooner than anticipated, but that could be a good thing. We were stagnating in that city."

"Speaking of the city, did you leave anyone in charge?"

"General Selena." He shrugged when I gave him a weird look. "She was already being moved to the capital, and it'll reassure the people."

"Oh, I hadn't known that first part." Then again, I'd been doing my best to keep _super_ busy and 'conveniently' away from the leaders. "But still, we will be fighting soon…" I looked at him, well aware that if I had been in a medically induced sleep, then I had been _bad_. Worse than I had thought, and I had known it was bad. "Will I be fighting?"

"Depends on when it is, and what you would be doing. If it's… say… tomorrow, you're not. If it's in another week, then maybe." He rested the back of his hand on my forehead, checking for fever. "You will, however, be on bedrest until the battle, even if it's a week from now. And if you do fight, you'll be checked and possibly put back on bedrest, depending."

"Okay." Best just to listen. It was my own recklessness that… "I should've waited."

"There's nothing that says he wouldn't have done something else. Like cut off a hand or finger to send to us as a message." Saleh shook his head. "I will not say it wasn't reckless, because it was, but it is hard to say which situation would be worse. And you are here."

"Yeah, I suppose I am." I smiled again. "Will you help me through Valega later?"

"Certainly." He looked back to his medicines. "Now, ideally, you won't need all of these, but you will need some and…"

"Oh, um…" Both Saleh and I looked up and saw Ephraim in the doorway. I hadn't even heard it open. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking down. "Tethys told me Emma was awake and that I could see her?"

"...Of course she did," Saleh sighed, resting a hand on his temple. I had to giggle, because it _was_ like her. "No doubt she thinks you two should make up sooner rather than later." He stood up and waved Ephraim in. "...You can't stay long, but I believe I forgot one of the medicines she absolutely needs." I somehow doubted that, since it was Saleh. But it was a nice enough lie. "You have until I get back."

"Thank you." Ephraim smiled in relief and stepped to the side for Saleh. Then he shut the door and immediately bolted for the chair, sitting down so quickly that he almost knocked it over. Not that he noticed. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better than I was," I replied honestly. I thought about what Saleh said about 'making up' and frowned at him. "Does everyone know we argued now?"

"I hope not _everyone_?" he replied, smiling sheepishly. He shrugged helplessly when I narrowed my eyes. "But I did ramble about it a little while trying to plan with Joshua. You'll have to tell us how you escaped, by the way. I'm sure it was fascinating."

"It involved way more luck than I want." I gave him a look and he smiled sheepishly. "You're trying to change the subject. You rambled about it? Really?"

"That was our last conversation, Emma. And I was very scared it would be the _last_ conversation we had." His sheepishness disappeared for heartbreaking worry. "Ha… been a long while since I was that scared, truthfully."

"Because I was captured?"

"And because of who had you. Anyone else, and we could at least assume you'd be treated relatively well, to be a hostage or something. But Valter…" He shook his head. "We had no idea what he'd do. He's near impossible to predict. So, it was very possible you'd be killed, or worse, within minutes of..." He trailed off, probably because I knew better than him just what I had escaped. "So, I was scared."

"I'm sorry." I winced, feeling guilty. I _could_ have talked to him. And if I had, then… but then L'arachel might've been the one caught, and there would've been no convenient Brynhildr to find her. "And I'm sorry about yelling. And for shooting Lyon. And… um..."

"You know, given our personalities, it's probably a surprise that we haven't had an argument like that yet." He smiled slightly. "Normally it's just one of us being blunt and the other grumbling a little."

"Or teasing." I set my mug on the nightstand, by the medicines. "I suppose it's because we were both emotionally exhausted."

"I think so too, and we should think of how we move past arguments more quickly, in the future. Because, even without your being kidnapped, I never want to go so long without talking with you again. Without seeing you, really." He gently took my hand and kissed it. "And I've been trying to rehearse an apology or something, because I shouldn't have lashed out, but I haven't been able to think of-"

"Ephraim." I smiled at him, and he smiled back sheepishly. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me? I shouldn't have snapped _back_. I knew how long of a day that was." I squeezed his hand. "So… um…"

"Okay." His smile softened, and I giggled, relieved. "And I'll try to spend more time with you as well."

"Ephraim, that's…"

"Joshua and I actually had a talk about it. Since, you know, he and Natasha had to figure that out too." Absently, he began playing with my fingers. "And Joshua noted that I was doing the same thing he did. Went from one extreme to the other. Which isn't healthy, for a number of reasons."

"...So long as you don't put off important work." I looked away, embarrassed suddenly. "I'll be mad if you do."

"I know. And Seth would hunt me down." He grinned and I laughed. "Ah, any messages you want me to pass on to people?"

"If there's paper around, I'll actually write it so that you don't have to memorize it all." I tugged his hands, trying to pull him closer. "However, it has been far too long since you've kissed me."

"Far too long, indeed." He leaned in and kissed me softly and gently. I couldn't help but smile into it. "...May I have a few more?"

"So long as you get me that paper before Saleh returns." I giggled, elated. Safe. I was finally safe. "But yes, please. A few more."

* * *

Author's notes: So, here we go? Needed a way to bring Valter back into things, so here's this. Eirika looking through Gleipnir and Ephraim practicing with Garm are nods to two of their Alts (Anamnestic Lady and Sacred Twin Lord). Gleipnir being 'the tome that bound the darkness' is a reference to Norse mythology, where Gleipnir is the name of the binding used on Fenrir, and its abilities reference its in-game abilities (skill +5) and Heroes (Res+3, atk/spd +3 if at 100% HP). Same for Garm's abilities, and for its 'title' thing (Garm is a 4-eyed hound which guards the gates to the underworld, much like Cerberus in Greek mythos). L'arachel and Innes boast and compare their countries in their supports. There's nothing about how Tethys and Gerik actually met; I decided to throw it in.

Next Chapter - Seared Skies (Ephraim Chapter 15 equivalent)


	39. Chapter 23) Seared Skies

Chapter 23) Seared Skies

* * *

 _I got kidnapped. The more I think about it, the more irritated I get. Mostly because it sounds exactly like a damn storybook! Village girl falls in love with the crown prince, the prince (for reasons no doubt related to his lack of sanity) loves the girl back, and she gets kidnapped by the evil folk to serve as a source of motivation for the prince. And I hit all three points with that! So irritating. But, I don't mind the irritation really. It keeps me from being afraid. It keeps me from crying when I remembered just what I escaped from. What could've happened._

 _Damn all of this… just damn it._

* * *

"Tana, can you pass Emma her mug of tea?" Eirika requested, adjusting the stack of books she brought me in order of recommendation. Because I had, absently, asked if there were some history books, specifically pertaining to the War, and Eirika had scoured the entire place to find some for me. Because it was something she could do to make my healing a little more comfortable. "I don't want her straining."

"Of course~!" Tana laughed, doing just that. She was careful to make sure I had a good grip before returning to arranging the massive amount of flowers I had. "It's so cute how Ephraim picked flowers for you, Emma!"

"To the point that he was _almost_ late for a meeting. Though, to be fair, it was earlier than normal." Eirika laughed when I made a face. "Come on! You know it's cute!"

"He just does it because he enjoys teasing me," I mumbled, hiding my smile in the mug of… whatever tea this was. Medicinal was all I knew. Moulder had brewed it for me before Eirika and Tana had arrived for morning fussing. Both had taken to spending their morning this way, to reassure themselves that I _was_ back and that I _wasn't_ still in Valter's clutches. I didn't mind, because it reassured me too. "Besides, not _all_ of them are from him."

"Gerik got you some too, right?" Tana asked, frowning because apparently one flower refused to go where she wanted. I had no idea why she was arranging them so meticulously, but she could do what she wanted. "And Joshua?"

"Neimi and Amelia too." Both of them had gone foraging, and had swung by to give me some pretty flowers they'd found. And to ask for my input for the day's menu. I, sadly, couldn't cook since I was on bedrest, but Neimi kept me involved as much as possible still. Which I enjoyed. Cooking was fun, after all. "Just to add some variety to the room."

"Yeah, I imagine staring at the same four walls would get super boring after a while." Tana smiled in satisfaction and then plopped down next to me on the bed. "How's your recovery going?"

"It's going well. Slow, but well." I'd _really_ hurt myself with that little 'adventure'. Even though it had been almost a week since I woke up, I still felt sick. Though, considering that according to Natasha, I'd had sepsis, which could be very fatal, and heat stroke, which could also be very fatal… I seriously needed to start leaving offerings at temples. "Still going to be a bit before I can go flying with you again. How's Brynhildr?"

"Myrrh and I have been making sure Brynhildr is kept up to date on how you're recovering," Eirika replied, sitting down on my other side. She then picked up the brush on the nightstand and began brushing my hair. "She misses you dreadfully, and according to Myrrh, keeps grumbling about stupid knights who don't protect precious people properly. Wow, that was an alliteration there."

"By the way, can you order Seth to stop apologizing?" I half-begged. Eirika and Tana laughed, but Eirika smiled sympathetically. "I get it. He feels bad that they overlooked something." With it still being investigation. "I'm going to be fine. He's changing the patrols, so we're all _fine_." At least, I hoped. The idea of Valter sneaking in again was… "Please?"

"I'll do my level best, but Seth can sometimes forget orders like that. Just as he forgets orders to take a day off."

"Why do I get the feeling you and Ephraim tried to order him to take one off so that you could run around and get into trouble?"

"Because that's _exactly_ what they did!" Tana laughed. She laughed harder when Eirika pointedly ignored the question. "Of course, I tried to do the same. Innes just walked away on his own."

"Yeah, I can't see him listening to a babysitter," I mused. I even tried, but it just didn't work. At all. "I don't think anyone beats Joshua when it comes to 'escaping babysitters' though."

"I _still_ can't believe he hid for like ten years _in his own capital_!" Noticing I was done with my tea, Tana took the mug from me and set it to the side. "Was there any other medicine you needed, Emma?"

"Not for the morning, no." Though I did wish I had eaten a bit more… whatever this medicine was, it made me a bit queasy if I didn't eat something with it. And because I didn't have much of an appetite, I always underestimated how much to eat. "So…" A knock on the door made me frown. Tana and Eirika were the only ones who visited me in the morning. "Yes?"

"...Um… can someone open the door for me?" Myrrh's hesitant and sheepish voice filtered through the door. "My hands are full and I can't balance it with one hand…"

"Coming, Myrrh!" Eirika laughed, setting the brush on the nightstand and standing up. Guess she was done with brushing. "Hey, there!" Eirika opened the door and there was Myrrh, smiling sheepishly and carrying a tray with a plate of food and some sort of drink. "Ah, more medicine for Emma?"

"Not exactly." Myrrh carefully walked in and set the tray on the nightstand. "Tethys made this for Emma. It's some sort of treat? Whatever it is, it's really good and very light. Tethys let me try some!" She smiled. "Oh, and it's paired with a ginger tea, just in case Emma's tummy is hurting. The tea is from Natasha, because the medicine Emma has to take in the morning has nausea as a side effect."

"Ah, I see." Eirika giggled and helped move the tray so that I could actually eat and drink without hurting myself. Tana got up to shut the door, so that no one accidentally eavesdropped. Mornings often turned into gossip sessions. "How did you end up as the kitchen helper this morning? I thought you were helping Saleh?"

"I was, but then Ewan pulled a _big_ prank, with Ross's help." And that meant Saleh went to deal with that. "They made sure it was away from here to not disturb Emma, and away from the kitchen. I accidentally told Tethys, though."

"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, considering how quiet things have been," Tana noted. She sat back down on the bed and began playing with Myrrh's hair. "Your hair is such a pretty color. I've never seen indigo hair before."

"It's not uncommon among manaketes, I think? It might've also been common among humans once, but that's complicated." Myrrh frowned. "Very complicated."

"And we're having fun! Not being complicated!" Tana grinned and winked at me. "Anyway, though, I think I promised some gossip, and I've got _just_ the thing. It deals with cutie-pie Amelia."

"She and Franz kissed yesterday. The horses told me."

"Oh my gods, they did?!" Tana squealed in delight, while Eirika clapped her hands and grinned. I focused a bit more on eating, but I had to smile too. "Okay, you share first, Myrrh, and _then_ I'll tell my story! You said the horses told you?"

"Ah, yes?" Myrrh seemed a bit confused, but happy. And even happier when I gestured for her to sit on the bed with Tana and me. And Eirika, who sat down after her. "Animals see lots of things, you see…"

It was probably telling that gossiping with a manakete girl who could talk to animals didn't even register as 'weird' anymore. But you know what? I didn't think I'd have it any other way.

* * *

Sadly, not everyday could be so much fun. A little over a week after I made it back to everyone, the scouts reported that we had enemies on the horizon. Wyvern enemies. Led by Valter. He'd found us, and there was no hope of negotiations or anything. So, everyone prepared for another battle in the desert. Including me.

"Ephraim, the healers cleared me," I grumbled, slowly getting my armor on. My limbs felt like rocks, and my fingers kept fumbling over the buckles. But I made sure to face away from where Ephraim was leaning against the closed door, so that he wouldn't see. "You don't think they'd let me go if I wasn't capable, do you?"

"Capability has nothing to do with this," Ephraim muttered. Someone, probably L'arachel, had told him that I would be fighting in the coming battle, and he'd come straight to my room to try and talk me out of it. "It's your health."

"Again, healers cleared me."

"You can barely get your own armor on." Damn, he saw. "I wish you would simply stay back and continue resting."

"Sure, let's leave me alone where Valter can send someone to snatch me again." The words were out before I could stop them, and each one was dry enough to catch fire. "Or come himself. Again."

"You wouldn't be…" Ephraim sighed, shaking his head. "We're about to argue again, aren't we?"

"We haven't been already?"

"I meant like before. Where we're just yelling in circles because we're tired and stressed." He pushed off the door and came over to hug me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder and pulling me close. "So, first off, you know I'm just very scared you're going to make yourself sick again or that the weakness will get you hurt or killed, right?"

"Yeah, I know." It was obvious, and why wouldn't he be? I'd been in bad shape. Honestly, I still was. I knew Natasha would've rathered me stay resting. "...And you know that I'm scared of being left behind and…"

"And that he really might grab you again because if he did it once…" He kissed my cheek and continued holding me. "Now, is there another reason you're being insistent? You could just guard the infirmary. Seems like a good compromise there."

"Mmm… I could, except…" I closed my eyes and leaned back to rest more of my weight against him. My legs appreciated it; they really weren't strong enough to hold me up for long. If I'd been an infantry fighter, there was no way Natasha would've let me go. "I'm worried about Cormag."

"Because this is about Valter?"

"And his brother. Did anyone tell you that Cormag had to identify the body?"

"No, that was left out. Though, I've also purposely not asked. I'm not someone Cormag confides in."

"That is true." Though, if I remembered correctly, I'd learned that from Lyon, not Cormag. But neither here nor there. "Glen's body was so mangled that it took Cormag at least an hour to confirm it was him. Can you imagine how bad that had to be?"

"I'd rather not." He held me just a little tighter, and I knew he was remembering the time when I was captured. No doubt fears of having to identify my remains had popped into his head, among other things. "You think he's going to snap."

"I know he'll try to keep his head. But…" I bit my lip, trying to think of how to word things. "I… it isn't only Cormag involved. It's also Genarog. Remember how angry Genarog got? When we first met him?"

"How could I ever forget thinking everything was fine, hearing Tana scream your name, and looking up to see you nearly getting mauled?" He grumbled something, more noises than actual words. "I swear; I completely understand now why Eirika and Lyon used to panic whenever dangerous stuff happened to me."

"See? Good for you to learn." The attempted joke fell flat. "Now that was with Cormag trying to calm Genarog down. But what if they're _both_ angry?" I already knew what would happen because Cormag had said it. Both of them would die. "Brynhildr and I are the best choices for knocking them out, if it comes to it. Genarog might be fast, but between my arrows and Brynhildr's strength..." I could get him. I could drag him down. Maybe. Hopefully. "And since I know none of the planned strategies involve me playing a huge role…"

"You can keep an eye on him. And spare Duessel the death of another 'son', and us, the death of a good soldier and friend." Ephraim fell silent, and I just closed my eyes and let him gather his thoughts. Taking comfort from the warmth of his hug, and letting him support me for a bit, so that I had more strength later on. "Will you be careful?"

"I'm better suited for desert fighting than you, you know." I opened my eyes and tilted my head back to look at him. "I'm not on a horse or in heavy armor."

"You know what I mean, but if I promise to be careful, will you as well?"

"I suppose that's a fair trade." I smiled at him and he rolled his eyes. "And no trying to arrange bodyguards or anything. I will lose them, and quickly."

"Darn, there goes _that_ idea." He pretended to be annoyed, and I giggled. "I mean it, though. Be careful."

"I know. The second I start feeling like I'm sick or something, or the second Brynhildr senses something wrong, I am heading straight to the infirmary. I already promised Natasha."

"Can't believe she agreed to this."

"Her words were something like 'might as well, since she will just sneak out anyway'." I grinned and Ephraim had to laugh at that, conceding the point. "I love you."

"I love you too." Ephraim stepped to the side so that he could kiss me. "I love you too."

After that, Ephraim helped me get ready. I could tell by how his hands trembled slightly that he wished he could stop me. But he knew he couldn't. I wouldn't be the woman he loved if I didn't do this, and if he tried to change me, I'd throw him at Brynhildr. But, at the same time, I understood, so I didn't even pretend to protest the help. I just smiled and let him.

* * *

Well, this desert battle was a bit better than the last one. Probably because we had time to prepare. Lots of sun-balm, lots of extra water, strategies that helped ease the burden on the horses and the heavily armored, able to pick the timing a little better so that the sun wasn't pummeling us into submission, not doing back-to-back battles… Yeah, it was a bit better. Except we had a _lot_ of enemy fliers, and all of them fought with desperation. As did their wyverns. The sands were horribly bloody, and I was glad we directed the battle away from the Vrep. I didn't want to think of what all the blood and corpses would do to the animals.

"Emma, how are you holding up?" Cormag asked me. Both of us were taking a break from the fighting to get our bearings again. Fighting bunches of fliers meant a whole bunch of twisting this way and that in the air. "Do you need to fall back?"

"No, I'm fine," I reassured, downing a large gulp of water. I was tired, certainly, but nothing unusual. More importantly, though, was that Brynhildr wasn't worried and she was keeping the closest eye on me. "Holding up well enough."

"If you're sure…" Cormag looked down guiltily, and I shrugged. Though the official version was that I was 'covering', we both knew my 'real' job was keeping an eye on him. And to intervene if necessary. Not that it felt necessary. Despite what the scouts said, and despite what logic implied, there had been absolutely _no_ sign of Valter. At all. Made me nervous, really. "Seems Tana is holding up well."

"I'm not surprised." I still smiled when I saw her flitting about the skies, Vidofnir sparkling in her hands. "Vanessa is fine too." We'd had a bit of a scare when a wyvern knight tackled her and her pegasus, but right now, she was keeping up with Tana, guarding her flank. "I was a bit worried your spare lance would've been too heavy for her." Vanessa favored lighter lances, for quicker 'hit-and-run' tactics. Cormag… not so much, but the tackle had knocked Vanessa's lance, _and_ her spare, to the ground and there had been no time for her to fetch one from supplies. "She seems fine."

"I don't think she'll be switching anytime soon, based on that grimace." Cormag grinned briefly before looking around a bit more. Studying the battle. "Seems the infirmary is fine."

"It better be." I looked over with a laugh, mostly because the infirmary had only one guard. Myrrh. She insisted on helping out more this battle, and happily agreed to guarding the infirmary, knowing it was a very important duty. And she did her job well, because a giant dragon was a pretty good deterrent. So was her fire breath. And her claws. And her teeth. I worried for her after the battle, but for now, she was keeping all of the wounded safe. "Okay, where are we heading?"

"Hmm…" Cormag looked over the field, eyes narrowed as he contemplated. "Might be a good idea to assist the cavaliers. They're not under siege, yet, but…"

"Be good to make sure they don't _get_ under siege." Particularly the heavily armored cavalry, like Amelia and Duessel. "Garm surprisingly suits Amelia." I wouldn't have thought it, and I couldn't help but proudly smile at her. The young recruit who trembled as she badly held her lance… she'd grown a lot. And when she happened to look up and catch my eye, I made sure to wave and she waved back. "Okay, so let's…"

Brynhildr suddenly growled and jerked up sharply. So sharply that I almost broke my nose on her neck. Next to me, I saw Genarog suddenly drop, sudden enough that Cormag yelped. And for a split-second, I wondered why the hell they did that. But then I saw Valter, on Evaicrag, drop through the 'gap' between Cormag and me. The 'gap' where Cormag and I _had_ been, and if we had stayed there, Valter would've skewered us both. I wondered where the hell he came from before remembering how he'd caught me. Hiding, watching, waiting… that's what he'd been doing. Staying high in the air, higher than we flew, and studying each and every movement… waiting for that moment of weakness…

"Good, good!" Valter laughed, turning Evaicrag to face us. His face was split with a vicious, ecstatic grin and his eyes burned with a crazed light. "It wouldn't be fun if it ended so quickly!"

"Valter…" Cormag breathed, staring in shock. Then he growled and Genarog snarled. "So, you finally decided to stop cowering?"

"There are so many excellent targets to choose from! Do I go Ephraim? Eirika? Seth? Duessel? So _many_ …!" He cackled, and I tried to not flinch. I didn't like being this close to him. I really didn't. "But then I decided that I should continue my previous hunt! I let my prey get away, most tragically! And who do I find with her but the traitor, Cormag! It's too rich! I _must_ savor this hunt!"

"Why am I even bothering talking?" Cormag brought his lance up, and I drew a few arrows from my quiver. No avoiding this… "You want a hunt, Valter? You've got one, _and you're the prey!"_

Cormag and Genarog lunged, so quickly that I barely had time to shoot Valter and give Cormag a potential opening. Nor did I really have a chance to… you know… cover for him like I was supposed to. Why? Well, it was because both of them were idiots! Genarog and Cormag weren't being as careful as they should, especially when fighting someone like Valter in close range. So, it meant a few things. One, they weren't guarding, so they had a close of close calls. Two, they weren't _aiming_ , meaning there were quite a few strikes that hit armor. And, unfortunately, lances weren't meant to take repeated hits at armor-wearing-wyvern-knights-flying-towards-you. So, after one particularly close call, where Valter nearly rammed his spear through Cormag's head, Cormag swung… and his lance shattered. The good news was that the momentum and wind carried the shards into Valter's face, and sent Valter screaming away to recover, particularly when I shot his shoulder. But there was an issue. Namely, Cormag didn't have a spare lance. He gave it to Vanessa. And I didn't have one on me. Everyone agreed, including me, that I would fight with Brynhildr or not fight at all, so I hadn't brought one.

Of course, Cormag being unarmed wasn't the actual issue. It was something easy to solve, just fly down and get a new one. But Cormag didn't urge Genarog back towards the convoy. No, he instead pulled Genarog until Genarog was hovering over where the cavalry was under siege by fliers. Hovering over Duessel, who was too busy trying to make sure he didn't get killed by the barrage. Hovering over Duessel's horse, riderless because Duessel had dismounted at some point, probably to ease the burden on his horse. Hovering over the cursed lance, careful wrapped and _mostly_ hidden among Duessel's saddlebags. But not hidden enough for us to not see it.

"Cormag, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking…" I began slowly, tightening my grip on my bow. Cormag glanced over at me and said nothing. And yet, that silence screamed everything. "Seriously?"

"Genarog is faster," he reminded me softly. He wasn't going to pretend otherwise, at least. He wasn't going to lie. But he was also right. Genarog _was_ faster, and I couldn't shoot _down_ like this. I could hit one of our allies. "You going to try?"

"...I should, but I can't think of anything that doesn't put both us and our allies in danger." I sighed, not quite believing I was going along with this. "I will, however, accept next to no blame for this. I'm going to push it all on you."

"Okay."

"And if you go psycho like Valter, I'm shooting you. And then I'll be very mad at you."

"Okay."

"So, go on, before I find my sense again."

"You _had_ sense?" He grinned, and it was mostly normal. At the least, I could see the joke in it and that was good. Maybe. "I'm counting on you."

"Oh, and you owe me some sort of treat whenever we next go to a market."

"Deal."

He and Genarog dropped down, arcing carefully so that no one could see what he was doing. I watched him closely, gripping my bow tightly as I seriously debating going ahead and shooting, taking the risk. But I couldn't. I couldn't pick some nameless, faceless soldier over Cormag. Because even if I knew _nothing_ about them, they were part of someone's world. And my loved ones weren't any more important than someone else's. So, I just watched. I watched him skirt near Duessel. I watched him hesitate before grabbing the lance. I watched him surge up, with that black, cursed lance in hand. And I watched as Duessel felt the wind from Genarog's wings, watched him turn to see why, and watched his face blanch as Cormag flew away.

"Cormag!" Duessel's scream cracked a bit from the force, and I could hear all the fear and desperation in the world in that one word, that one name. Cormag's wince told me that he recognized it too. But he just flew right on past me, and I had to turn away so that I could keep up. Because Cormag wasn't stopping for anyone. He was charging right for Valter, and anyone who got in the way would be pushed aside.

So, I followed. I followed, and Brynhildr kept us at a good distance, so that I could aim shots and give Cormag the openings he needed. And he took them. He took them gleefully, he and Genarog roaring in triumph as Valter bled. Of course, Valter screeched in return, and fought back just as viciously. It was like watching two wounded animals, instead of watching two knights. Even Evaicrag and Genarog got involved, biting and clawing at each other, despite the danger to their own riders. It was a mess. It was a big mess, and I knew that we had to end this quickly. Otherwise, Cormag would definitely die, either by his own hand… or _mine_.

So, I glanced around for an idea, and glanced up at the sun. Brynhildr growled in agreement, catching my thought as I had it, and waited for Cormag and Valter to break away from each other before darting in close. "Cormag, high," I whispered as we passed. Cormag nodded, grinning. It wasn't quite mad, but it was far more vicious than his normal ones. "Keep steady." And then I was up.

Brynhildr and I went up and up and up, with Brynhildr screeching a war cry to _make sure_ Valter paid attention to us, and us alone. She flipped around as soon as she judged we were high enough, spreading her wings wide to emphasize how large she was. The merciless desert sun bore into my back, but we made sure it was directly behind us so that Valter had to focus to keep watching. I drew an arrow back and aimed, pretending I was aiming right at him. But I… I wasn't. I was aiming at Cormag as he and Genarog flew under Valter and then shot up. Just in case. But Valter didn't know that. Valter didn't expect that I would be a distraction, when my arrows were more effective than Cormag's lance. And that's what killed him.

The black, cursed spear _ripped_ through Evaicrag's armor, his scales shredded by the force and his dying screech heartbreakingly painful. The less said about the gaping wound Valter suffered, the better. He'd been practically cleaved in two, with the two 'halves' barely kept together by some skin and sinew. And since both he and Evaicrag had been in the air, everything just… tumbled out as they fell, blood trailing after them like flower petals. Rotten smelling flower petals, because of the smell.

They hit the ground with a splat, blood seeping into and spilling over the saturated sand. Not moving. Which made sense. Wasn't sure how anyone could survive their organs falling out. But Cormag and Genarog both tried to dive, lance at the ready. Prepared to keep at it. To stab and slice until all flesh wore away. The mad light in his eyes was all too familiar to me, and so, I had Brynhildr intercept them. They crashed straight into us, hard enough that my head spun, but Brynhildr caught Genarog and threw him back. And spread her wings out again in a very clear warning. 'You will not pass me.'

"That's enough, Cormag," I declared, firmly yet quietly. I still… I still had my arrow trained on him. I didn't want to shoot, but if he forced this, I… "It's over. He's dead." Cormag began trembling from suppressed fury, face contorting with a snarl. Genarog whimpered, his own anger fading as he sensed a change in his rider. The same change… Evaicrag sensed in Valter and was helpless to stop. "Cormag."

"...A…" Cormag began, voice tight. He coughed, like the sound strangled him. Or that the sound was strangled by his own anger before he could choke it out. "...A-arm…"

"Arm?" I frowned, wondering what the hell. But he shakily lifted his arm, giving me a clear shot at it, and I realized just what he was trying to ask. So, I didn't hesitate. I adjusted my aim and fired, the arrow going straight through his arm, right above the elbow. Automatically, his hand opened and down the lance tumbled, end over end. I barely saw it hit the bloody sand because Cormag had pitched forward, gasping and trembling and I had Brynhildr fly next to Genarog so that I could rub his back. "So… uh… could you not…?"

"I couldn't let go." He laughed shakily, not looking up. Like it had taken all of his strength to resist the curse enough for him to give me that one hint. "I tried. I tried to let go as soon as it hit Valter, but I couldn't." He coughed and gasped, struggling to breathe. Genarog whimpered again, this time in worry, but Brynhildr gently 'headbutted' his head, like a cat. "My arm wouldn't listen to me. It wouldn't listen."

"How are you?"

"Honestly, I've gone through so many emotions that I'm tempted to vomit."

"Well, let's get you down, in that case." I kissed his temple, and felt how clammy he was. He was never touching that spear again. Ever. No one was. "And then to the infirmary to get that arrow out of your arm. How much pain are you in?"

"Totally numb."

"And that's shock. We're definitely heading down."

We barely landed in time for Cormag to unbuckle himself and promptly throw up everything in his stomach. I passed him some water, and he tried to drink, but even that was too much and he promptly vomited it back up. After rubbing his back a bit more, I left him my water bottle and walked over to the… mess. And tried not to step on anything… squishy. Which I was more or less successful at, thankfully, and so, I stood by Evaicrag's corpse, looking at Valter's remains, still strapped into the saddle. Tempted as I was to leave him there, I sighed and unbuckled him, my fingers slipping in all the blood. When I got the last one done, I dragged Valter's body off and set it down in the sand. Not quite gently, but laid out properly. And then I slowly worked off Evaicrag's saddle and the shards of armor that remained. Eventually, I got everything off, and it was just Evaicrag, dead next to his rider. The rider he didn't give up on, even after he went completely insane.

"...I hope that in death, he'll be back to the man you chose," I whispered, petting Evaicrag's nose. I wondered how long it had been since he even got pets. Valter didn't seem the type to show any sort of affection. "For your sake, at least." Much as I would _love_ for Valter to burn, it was sad that Evaicrag had to suffer so much.

"What the hell happened?!" And there was the first of people questioning our sanity and, fittingly enough, it was Tana. She actually dismounted before Achaeus landed, jogging over to look between me (who was petting a dead wyvern) and Cormag (who was making a valiant attempt to puke his guts out). "Seriously, what was that?!" she half-shrieked. I knew she wasn't really mad. She had just been terrified. "There was the… and then he… and then you…!"

"Cormag can explain better than me, when he's actually able to talk." I smiled slightly, and headed over to the wyverns, who used their wings to shield Cormag. "I think you're better suited to help him from here than me, Tana. You mind?"

"Like hell I _mind_!" She muttered something, probably an interesting curse, before sighing and jogging over to Cormag to gather him up in her arms. He leaned against her briefly before going right on back to vomiting. "Seriously, what did you _do_?"

I left them to it and instead, focused on finding some sort of spare blanket or something in the packs. Genarog's packs had one, and I unfolded it to make sure it was a good size. Seeing that it was, I draped it over my arm and returned to the bodies, this time looking at the blood-saturated sand. It didn't take long for me to find the lance, and it was actually eerily clean, like it had _absorbed_ the blood or something. I promptly wrapped it up, multiple times, and then got back on Brynhildr to fly over to where Duessel was. Didn't have to go far. It seemed like he'd been trying to make his way over, though his heavier armor hampered his progress.

"How is he?" Duessel asked me immediately. Even though he was tired as all hell, drenched with sweat, it was all too easy to hear the fear in his voice. "Cormag? How is he?"

"Currently attempting to see if he can puke up his stomach," I replied dryly, hopping off Brynhildr. I shoved the lance into his hands, not wanting anything to do with it anymore. "As near as I can currently tell, he's fine. I had to shoot him because the lance wouldn't let him drop it, but since he knew, he could brace himself enough to keep it from latching." Now what 'scars' the claws had left, I had no idea. But that was only my business if Cormag made it mine. "We'll want to keep an eye on him, more than likely."

"Of course…" Still, Duessel sighed in relief, practically sagging. He almost dropped the lance, but quickly caught it. "And Valter?"

"I'd think things tumbling out of a person means they're dead, but that's just me."

"Oh, I didn't watch him fall. I was watching you and Cormag, wondering if…" He flinched, and I facepalmed, realizing the obvious. Of course he would've focused on that. And I, once again, shot someone in front of their loved one. This better not become a habit. "But he's fine."

"Tana's comforting him right now. I figured getting that lance wrapped up again needed to be _someone's_ priority." I leaned back against Brynhildr and she promptly nuzzled me. "Though, I suppose we could've just left it to the sands."

"That will only mean that someone in the future will find it, and it will become their problem."

"True." Gods knew _we_ had found stuff in the desert, and some people in Jehanna made a living off being treasure-hunters. "In that case, you mind if I ask Myrrh if she knows how to destroy this thing? Or Saleh? Because I think that should become a priority."

"That…" He sighed, chuckled, and nodded. "Yes, that should've been the first thing I did. I grew too used to simply guarding, it seems." He looked over the rest of the battlefield then, and I noticed that the fighting was waning. "This will be over soon."

"Good, Cormag needs to rest." I sighed and closed my eyes. I needed to rest too. "Hey, you have water on you? I gave mine to Cormag."

"With my horse. Wait there and I'll get it."

"Thank you."

* * *

Sadly, after the battle, it was my turn to be sick. Super-sick. So sick that even the smell and sight of broth was enough to make my stomach turn. I was checked over extensively, and it was determined that the stress of the battle, the heat, and _everything_ with Valter and Cormag had simply been too much for my still-healing body. As a result, I was ordered to rest, on penalty of dealing with very angry healers. Or something. I had no idea.

"Ugh… this suuuuucks…!" I whined, leaning back against the pillows of my bed. I'd normally try to keep it quiet, but Joshua was here helping me eat, so I just defaulted to whining. "Blech…"

"Think we should be glad you didn't _completely_ undo everyone's hard work," Joshua teased, setting the half-eaten broth on the nightstand. He then helped me sip some ginger-flavored water. There had been tea, but I'd vomited that up too. "Besides, you look better than Cormag!"

"I'd better!" Cormag had looked like gruel dragged through hell and sand. "How is he?"

"Ill like you, and under watch. At his request." Joshua silently asked if I wanted more ginger-water, but I shook my head, so he put it next to the bowl and then removed some of the pillows so that I could lay down. "He's promised to explain when he's feeling a little less like cooked death, and he takes full responsibility for whatever happened. In his words, you were just doing what you could to minimize damage." Joshua sighed, though, and ran a hand through my hair. "As it stands, Innes is basically ordering a search through everyone's belongings for other potentially dangerous things like that."

"Smart idea." I smiled bitterly. "I will take some of the blame, though. I could've tried harder to talk him out of it." But when it came to being reckless due to family… I was the _last_ person who had a right to scold.

"If you thought he would've heard you, you would've. Surprised Brynhildr didn't try to tackle and pin him."

"Remember how upset she was when we found the bodies?"

"Never mind. I do very clearly remember that evening. You were probably the only one out of the four of you capable of thinking clearly."

"Hee… well, mostly." I had to laugh at the idea of _me_ being the calm one. "The real reason was because I couldn't figure out a way without risking shooting the people below. And I couldn't do that."

"Of course not. That's just how you are." Joshua smiled, warmly. "We're heading north to Rausten and seeing if we can track the source of the darkness Myrrh sensed. Surprised she's not in here. She was so upset that you were ill again."

"Myrrh is with Saleh, Lute, and Knoll studying that spear." Or, rather, relaying what she remembered to help the scholarly trio study it. "Ewan might be with them as well, but I'm not so sure."

"Right, Duessel promised us the story about it in the morning. He offered now, but… well, given the number of heart attacks, we first insisted on him getting his health checked to make sure he didn't have an _actual_ heart attack." He shrugged. "Then we insisted on him resting. I believe I saw Eirika fussing over him? Actually, how did I get so lucky that I get to fuss over you all by myself?"

"They're _supposed_ to be working." I grumbled a bit under my breath before making a face. "Of course, that was before the puking started. Thought I was _fiiine_. That I was just going to _sleeeep_. But _noooooo_ , my stomach decided otherwise."

"Ha!" Joshua grinned, and resting the back of his hand on my forehead. "Bit of a fever, petal. And you're clammy."

"Blech." I stuck my tongue out and he laughed. "So, we're heading north?"

"Ah, yes, I had a point to that." He smiled softly now. "Since we're heading north, we're actually going to check in on Zada. See how everything is."

"Oh, that sounds nice!"

"Doesn't it? And you're going to be pampered and spoiled the entire way." He switched to a grin and I groaned. "Price of worrying us, dear petal."

"I'd say it's under protest, but I definitely overdid it." I didn't regret it, though. "...I needed to see him die, brother. I think Natasha and Moulder knew that, and that's why they compromised." Because no matter what I told Ephraim, I knew Natasha, at least, had wanted me to rest.

"I know, petal. Because now, it's just your nightmares you have to worry about. Well, when it comes to Valter, at least." He kissed my forehead. "I'm sure Tethys will be by later to make sure you're doing okay on that front. She's better suited to it than me."

"Okay." I'd thankfully been fine so far, but we'd see what happened now that Valter was dead. Could trigger something. "Thank you, brother."

"Always." Joshua tilted his head to the side and a split-second later, there was a knock on the door. "Come on in."

"Hello, hello!" L'arachel skipped inside, carrying a basket filled with medicines. "Came to give her a check-up," she explained, laughing. I wasn't surprised to see her. She still felt guilty about my getting captured, and all. "So, out-out, mister!"

"Fine, fine…" Joshua 'complained', smiling too much for it to be a true complaint. He kissed my cheek and stood up. "She's got a fever, though, and can't keep anything down."

"Got it. Thanks, Joshua!" L'arachel kept up the smile until Joshua left and then she rushed over to me with a frown. "Oh, poor Emma…"

"Hey, I'll be fine, particularly since I've got such good healers!" I reassured, smiling. It wasn't until I said that… I hadn't realized that the last time I was this sick was the cold while everyone else had pneumonia. And, even more strangely, it didn't hurt. For the first time in two years, I could think about it without it hurting. "How's Cormag's arm? I hit him near the elbow, after all."

"We have to heal him slowly, but since we have that time, he'll be just fine," L'arachel explained, smiling again. She carefully moved the broth and mug over to make room for the basket. "He'll probably scar, though."

"I really hope I don't have to shoot an ally again."

"I hope so too. That was all so frightening!" She shuddered and began taking various medicines out. "But in the end, all seems to be well. Even better, we have removed yet another obstacle in our path towards peace."

"Yeah…" I couldn't help but think of all the people Valter had killed, though. So many… and only now did he die… "I'm worried about the price of victory, though. So many have died already, after all. How many more will it cost?"

"Sadly, the answer is 'too many'. After all, it's already cost too many." She sat beside me and helped me sit up. "However, that means that when we win, we must do what we can to protect the future that blood bought."

"Maybe actually _kill_ the Demon King this time around?" I wondered why they didn't. I'd have to ask Myrrh. Because maybe it was something we could work around. "Sure, other threats will show up in the future, but at least not _that_ one."

"That is a good point, and unlike the Heroes, we do have a little bit of knowledge of who we're dealing with. This war has not dragged on so long that names of countries have been erased, and despite the traps and whatnot, we've known more victories than defeats." L'arachel laughed. "I bet the Heroes are helping us from beyond, for us to have so many blessings.."

"Well, we need all the help we can get, so sure." After everything I'd seen? Dead people actually helping out was the least weird thing ever. And would be a nice change of pace from the dead trying to kill us. "So, do I need to hold my arms out or anything?"

"Right now, I'm just going to prod and see if I feel any swelling or the like." Her professionalism masked her cheer, but only mostly. She was just that sort of person, and probably always would be. "You tell me if there's any pain, okay?"

"Got it. Thanks, L'arachel."

"Always."

* * *

 _Not sure why I'm still keeping track of who joins since we're long past that point. ...Actually, I'm not sure why I started at all. Maybe an attempt to keep names straight when we were a small group and it was actually feasible to know everyone's names. I don't know._

* * *

Author's notes: And thus, Valter falls. Finally. In Ephraim's route, Chapter 15 is where Eirika, Innes, and Saleh would join (along with Jehanna's Sacred Twins). Cormag's A support with Duessel has Cormag asking Duessel if he can wield the cursed lance (though after the war because he fears becoming something worse than Valter if he tried then). But it did give me a fun little idea that might have gotten away from me. Just a little.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Festival


	40. Interlude - Festival

Interlude - Festival

* * *

 _Valter is dead. He's dead. Finally… but it feels strange, though. So much happened all because of him. Now he's gone, but we're still fighting. Because it's not over yet._

 _I'm tired._

* * *

Horses walked weirdly on sand, so even when I was dozing, I could tell when we left the road. Not that I let it bother me, or anything. I was cuddled up with Ephraim, and he knew how to control his horse. Plus, the Jehannans in the group were leading the way, knowing the roads even with the markers all askew. Nothing to worry about, which was good. I was still sick, after all. Which was why I was riding with Ephraim instead of flying on Brynhildr. I wasn't allowed. Healer's orders.

"You doing okay?" Ephraim asked me softly. Not bothering to open my eyes, I mumbled something incoherent and leaned more on him, gripping his shirt. "I'm taking that as a yes, you know."

"Of course it's a yes," I muttered, opening my eyes to sleepily glare up at him. He simply smiled softly in return. "Fix your hood. Your nose is getting sunburned."

"Whoops." He tugged it forward to better shield his face. "The sun is _barely_ up. Why am I sunburned?"

"Welcome to Jehanna?" Still, I had to laugh because he was right. The army started marching a little before sunset. "Ask Joshua."

"Later." He chuckled. "I think he's having fun betting with Innes."

"Still can't believe Innes hasn't figured out he cheats."

"...Wait, he _does_?"

Lighthearted conversations like that were common enough among the army as we slowly traveled north. Not in any real hurry because we… honestly didn't know what we were going to find in the north. There was no 'war' anymore. Now it was fighting the Demon King and… really, we had no plan. All we knew was that the fighting wasn't over yet. But, for right now, we could relax and joke around. Tease each other. Something to help lift the spirits.

Now that I was awake, under protest, I looked around curiously, wondering who all I could see. But being on the ground severely limited my view, even more so when I was riding and had a hood to deal with. So, I really only saw the people closest to Ephraim, which was Seth on one side, and Kyle on the other. And just behind Seth was Duessel, riding with a sleeping Cormag. While we were fairly certain at this point that Cormag would be fine, and wouldn't become like Valter, he was still just as sick as I was, so he was also forbidden from flying on his own. Like me, he spent most of the travel-time sleeping.

"Hey, Ephraim?" I mumbled, resting my head against his chest again. I was too tired to eavesdrop. "Who's with Brynhildr again?"

"I think Myrrh is riding her to rest her wings," Ephraim answered easily. I had to smile at that, since I knew she was also reassuring Brynhildr. "And Tana is up there talking to her and helping to make sure Genarog and Brynhildr don't drown us in freshly killed animals."

"That's easily the last thing we need right now."

"No kidding." He glanced behind him, grinning suddenly. "And before you ask, Eirika and Saleh are discussing history a short distance behind us. I think. I can't _hear_ them, but that is definitely Eirika's 'history is soooooo amazing' smile."

"Or maybe it's 'wow, Saleh talking about history is super hot' smile." I had to snicker, especially when he rolled his eyes. "How did they end up riding together?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I think Gerik and Tethys were involved."

"I see." That sounded like them. Especially Tethys. "We're not far from Zada, are we?"

"No, just a couple days at most, providing the weather continues to hold." Ephraim looked up at the cloudless, starry sky. "Which it seems to be."

"That's good." For travel, at least. I hoped they'd gotten enough rain to help mitigate the previous drought. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Of course." He pulled me close, and I didn't have to look up to know he frowned at me worriedly. "Is the rest…?"

"Yeah, it's normal. Promise. Natasha would have me with her if it wasn't." I closed my eyes, already dozing off. "Hey, Ephraim?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled and leaned down to kiss me. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll keep you safe."

"You better…" And I was back to sleeping. He was really comfy.

* * *

"Natasha is going to kill me," Joshua groaned, shifting me a little higher up on his back as he carried me through the halls of Zada Castle. I only hummed, giggling. "Seriously, petal, she's going to kill me."

"We're not breaking _any_ rules the healers set, brother," I protested, still giggling. Yes, I wasn't cleared to walk or anything, but no one said anything about me being carried! "I'm a good little patient."

"You're also lighter than a petal, petal. You okay?"

"I've lost weight from the illnesses, but my stomach has stopped throwing tantrums, so I'll be on a normal diet again soon." With luck, I'd be cleared for walking on my own soon too. Then I could go flying on Brynhildr again, and get back into shape. "But I'd be in the infirmary if the weight loss was anything to _worry_ about."

"True, true." He sighed. "Natasha is going to kill me."

"Love you~!"

"Love you too."

Joshua and I continued to chat as he carried me out of the castle and into the bright sunshine. Outside, the city was bright and chipper as they decorated for a festival. Because, for once, we had _good_ luck with our timing and arrived just in time for one. Now, given recent events, the citizens _were_ going to keep things quiet, but when Joshua learned that, he insisted that everyone go all out for it instead. Apparently, this festival had been a favorite of both of his parents, and he thought enjoying the festival to the fullest would be a better way to honor their memory. And a Jehannan party was just what the army needed to wind down from all the chaos and bloodshed. Win-win for us!

Despite the hecticness of the decorating and having to carry me, Joshua navigated the streets easily and greeted various vendors by name. They returned the greetings with just as much enthusiasm, and shared gossip that made both of us laugh. Other people stopped him and asked about where various decorations should go. I wasn't quite sure on the significance of the festival, since I'd been half-asleep during the explanations, but I did know that it was colorful! Beautiful pinks and blues and purples… it was almost like the city was transforming into the dawning sky. It was beautiful, and I was glad to see Zada so cheerful, given what happened last time we were here.

Eventually, we made it to the main temple of Zada, which was just as decorated as the rest of the city. Even the various shrines to the gods were decorated, like they were welcoming the gods into the celebrations too, though there weren't quite as many ribbons. Probably because of the candles set out. Most of the candles were by the shrine for the Queen-Goddess of the Dead, which ironically made that altar the brightest section of the temple. Well, I thought it ironic, at least. But it was still nice, and the incense burning was strangely sweet as Joshua set me down by that altar. He then left, to give me privacy and to speak to the priests in charge. Probably to say a couple of prayers himself, since he was here.

"...I really don't know what I'm doing," I whispered quietly, looking at the altar. It was engraved with various symbols sacred to the Queen-Goddess, like alligators, and set with glittering rubies, no doubt to represent the 'beloved' coloring. Each candle was a very specific color of black, hinting it was important too. "But it seems like, given how many times I should've died, yet haven't… well, I should thank you. I'm glad to be alive. I'm still working on healing, and believing that I deserve this life and happiness, but I'm glad to have it." Underneath the altar was a small box, made of a rich and dark wood, so I left my offering there: the bloodstained charm Natasha had made me. "This is from the first time I really tested the stories. I hope it's good enough." I bit my lip and bowed my head. "And if you can, somehow, help us find a happy ending from this mess… I'd appreciate it."

I sat there awkwardly, knowing that I should probably leave, but also knowing that I wasn't healed enough to walk yet. Thankfully, though, Joshua was back before long and picked me up to carry me on his back again. He took a different way back to the castle, greeting and checking in on more people. I didn't mind, because I loved seeing how happy and cheerful everyone was, but it did mean we were gone for a while. So, by the time Joshua carried me back to my room, Natasha had learned I wasn't there. And was waiting for us. While very visibly annoyed.

Uh oh.

* * *

"L'arachel, stop squirming!" Tana laughed, carefully paintings some colorful swirls on L'arachel's cheek. Supposedly, it was to add more 'whimsy' to her look, since she was dressed as a wind spirit with lots of ribbons and the like. "I'm going to mess up!"

"It's cold!" L'arachel complained, smiling though. She did try to sit still, though, while also watching Tana paint via the vanity mirror. "Is there not a way we can warm it up?"

"Not in the time frame we have."

"Darn." She made a face before laughing. "I'm going to paint your face to get you back for this!"

"I don't think facepaint will go with the kitty cat theme I've got."

"Sure, it can! Whiskers!"

I wasn't exactly sure why my room had been designated the 'royals plus Emma get ready for the festival' room, but L'arachel, Tana, and Eirika had burst in a few hours ago to do just that. Which was a good thing, since… well, the most unique thing about this festival was that _everyone_ dressed up in some sort of costume. And I did mean _everyone_. I saw some pet dogs and cats sporting costumes when I looked out the window earlier. But all that meant that getting ready took longer than usual. Especially mine.

"They're so silly," Eirika giggled, carefully pinning white roses in my hair. Apparently, royalty had 'set' costumes, probably to discourage wanton spending. Since I was Joshua's 'little sister', I was the 'Lady of Roses', which involved (surprise) lots of roses. I got to pick what color, and I went with white because I picked it at random. And I didn't want to look at red petals. Reminded me of blood. "Almost done."

"I hope so!" I groaned, making a face. I had roses braided into my hair, and a rose-crown. And rose bracelets, and rose embroidery on my dress… "I thought the maids were joking when they said that I'd hate roses after this."

"At least white roses!" She laughed and pinned the last of the roses in my hair. "I might be sick of them myself! My hands are cramping!"

"Sorry!" I took her hands and gently began massaging them. "Still say you should've dressed up like a book to catch Saleh's attention."

"Emma!" She huffed and turned up her nose, pretending to be offended. "I'm a lunar maiden!"

"Yeah, I know." And she did look pretty, all dolled up in whites and silvers. "But still."

"Mean!"

"What's going on?" Tana called, still painting L'arachel's face. And trying to not get it into her hair. "Are we teasing Eirika about Saleh?"

"Tana!" Eirika yelped, turning bright red in mortification. She scowled when the rest of us laughed. "W-well, what about you and Cormag?"

"Well, I _am_ leaning towards more romance instead of just wanting to jump his bones, but we'll see." She grinned and L'arachel giggled. "What about you, L'arachel? Anyone catch your eye?"

"Maybe, maybe," L'arachel replied, smiling innocently. With the costume and paint, it actually looked mysterious and coy. "However, I shan't say a word!"

"In that case, we should probably take some guesses!" I joked, grinning. I was curious as to who it might be. Innes, perhaps? He was probably the one she spoke about most, but… "At least a little hint. Boy? Girl?"

"Both."

"Oh, my~!" Now I was really curious, and Tana's grin (as cat-like as her costume) hinted she was too. Eirika just looked relieved to no longer be the target. "Hmm… so…"

"I'm gonna get you!" Sadly for our 'guessing game', Myrrh burst into the room right then and pounced on Eirika, laughing. "This is so much fun!" she declared, waving her arms about. I had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to be, with the red dress with fur around the cuffs and collar and the ribbon that somehow made the ends stand up like bunny ears. "Are you ready?"

"Just about," Eirika laughed, hugging her. She then looked Myrrh over, tilting her head, and Tana went back to finishing up L'arachel's paint. "And what's this costume?"

"I think it's supposed to be a bat. So that my wings don't look out of place." She folded her wings against her back and looked down shyly. "Is it weird?"

"It's incredibly adorable." She tickled Myrrh and Myrrh laughed and laughed. "You are just too cute!"

"I hear laughter, so are you ready?" Tethys poked her head in then, smiling brightly. She must've been walking with Myrrh before Myrrh bolted ahead. "It's almost time," she told us. Her costume was mostly a white and gold version of her normal dancer outfit, though she wore a feathered headdress with it. I gathered it was for the dance she'd perform during the festivities. "So?"

"Almost!" L'arachel replied, scrambling up to force Tana to sit down at the vanity. Tana pretended to protest. "I have to paint Tana's face! Shouldn't take long."

This was going to be fun~!

* * *

Laughter and singing and music all danced about in the air, highlighting the smiles on the crowd's faces. There was so much to see and do that even though I was stuck sitting on a dais (or whatever it was called) to watch… well, I wasn't bored. There was always _something_ to look at. Dancing, singing, games, chatter… all in bright and creative costumes. It was fun trying to guess what each of the costumes were, but I didn't really know most of them.

I spent a lot of time trying to find people that I knew, though with so many people in the crowd, it was near impossible. Hell, I couldn't even find Joshua or Natasha, and you'd think they'd stand out as 'King and his fiance'. Then again, Joshua hid for ten years in this very city. He probably knew all the places to hide. No one else really had that excuse, but aside from brief glimpses, I really didn't see anyone. Not unless they sought out me.

"Don't know why you're hard to find considering the roses and everything." Cormag walked up and passed me a cup of mint tea. I had _no_ idea what he was dressed up as, but it included a long cape with a very high collar and some old fashioned clothing. "Were you not cleared to walk?" he asked me softly, sitting down on the dais itself. He had his own cup of tea that he sipped from. "I was."

"I was, but I got tired, so I'm resting," I explained, sipping the tea. Mint tea was really good, especially on a night like this. "What about you? Have you been enjoying yourself?"

"As much as I can." He fell silent, watching the crowd, and I did the same. Noticing there were people crowding around the stage in the middle of the square, I focused there, seeing people set up for another play. I wondered what it would be this time. The last one had been a murder mystery. "I can still feel it. That cursed lance."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No, but…" He trailed off, clearly trying to think of the words he wanted. "It amplified the negative traits I already had. I think. The longing for vengeance. It's not corruption, so much as…"

"Suffocating your good traits?"

"Yeah." He finished off his tea and set the cup down next to him. "Maybe that was why Evaicrag stayed with Valter. Not just hoping he'd 'go back', but because those traits were already there."

"Do you regret killing him?"

"Never. But I do think I regret using that lance to do it." He closed his eyes. "And now, I still feel it. All too aware of those negative traits."

"Is it more admirable to be born good or to choose to be good?"

"I…" He opened his eyes to give me a skeptical look. "That was philosophical."

"I know, right? Sounded wise." I grinned at him and leaned down to pat his head. "You're a good person, Cormag. And if you doubt that, I'm sure I can arrange some sort of 'give Cormag compliments' line."

"Please, no." Still, he laughed and I thought that a victory. "I've already got Duessel." He snapped his fingers then and jumped off the dais. "Right, I should get him a gift."

"You should!" I giggled and waved him goodbye. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem." And Cormag left, disappearing quickly into the crowd. However, I wasn't alone for long. Which I expected. Joshua hadn't been kidding when he mentioned no one was eager to leave me alone after me being captured.

"Everything okay?" Ephraim often sought me out, and today was no different, though he looked at where Cormag had gone. "Tana says he's been doing fine, but…" he continued, frowning. "Is he?"

"I think so," I replied, smiling. I really did think he'd be okay, and that was good. "So, what brings you here, my… whatever you're dressed up as?"

"I just threw on what Joshua told me to." He glanced down at his outfit, which honestly looked like some sort of military uniform. Except he had a horned headband on his head, for some reason. "I mean… I'm not really a big fan of showy outfits, but…" He frowned when I choked on a laugh. "I can already hear your sarcastic retort."

"Well…" I muffed a giggle. "Well, it does look good on you. Whatever it is."

"Your compliments bring me joy, oh Lady of Roses." He fixed my crown, grinning. "I have a feeling that if I give you white roses, you'll throw them at me."

"Please, don't." I made a face, sighing. "The only good thing is that they smell wonderful."

"They do. Compliment whatever perfume you're wearing."

"Susinum." It was a special occasion, after all. "Having fun?"

"Of course." He smiled and looked out over the crowd, wearing a fond expression. "I hope we end this soon, so that we can enjoy more festivals like this."

"And hopefully at the next one, I'd be well enough to dance." I looked longingly at the dancers, noting how much fun they were having. I had fun dancing at the impromptu party we threw at Renais. "Oh well."

"Here." Ephraim held out his hand and helped me up when I took it. "Let's walk through the market together. It's absolutely magnificent."

"Hmm… yes, that does sound nice.

I beamed at him and he smiled back. "We should get gifts for everyone!"

"Sounds good to me."

I'd probably remember that festival forever. I was glad we managed to attend. I thought it was good for the army, after Grado. Hopefully, it would give us the strength to deal with what was to come.

* * *

Author's notes: Just a short and much needed breather chapter for the army. The costume Myrrh is wearing is based on her halloween!alt in FE Heroes. Ephraim stating he's not fond of showy outfits is from his Winter!Alt.

Next Chapter - River of Regrets (fun fact! If I don't change things, we're about 8 chapters away from the ending, including epilogues)


	41. Chapter 24) River of Regrets

Chapter 24) River of Regrets

* * *

 _After a surprisingly cheerful rest in Zada, we continue north. Our goal? Rausten, where the last Sacred Stone is. And maybe some answers? Problem is… there's one answer I don't want confirmed. At all. I don't even want to think about it. But I know we'll find out sooner rather than later._

 _Gods, we've kind of been through hell and back multiple times. Can you swing us a happy ending? Please?_

* * *

"You're falling behind, Cormag!" I laughed as Brynhildr and I passed him on a dive. For the first time in what felt like forever, both of us were determined to be well enough to fly. So, as soon as we set up camp? Cormag and I hopped onto Genarog and Brynhildr to race. Well, 'race'. Honestly, it was more like playing tag where we alternated who would be 'winning'. It was really just to feel the wind blasting our faces and see the gloriously familiar sight of the land from above. "Getting tired?"

"You wish!" Cormag retorted, grinning as Genarog pulled a sharp turn that made my joints ache in 'sympathy pain'. But I bent low over Brynhildr's neck so that she could push just a little faster. "Just getting warmed up!"

"Oh, please! You look like yesterday's gruel!" Though, to be honest, he did look a lot better than he had been. He had more color to his face, at least. Could've just been chapped from the wind, but still. "No need-!" A sharp whistle cut me off and both Cormag and I groaned because we knew what that meant. Playtime was over. "If we don't look down, you think we can pretend we didn't hear it?"

"Could pretend that the wyvern's screeching in joy rattled our hearing." Even as he said that, he had Genarog slow to a stop and I urged Brynhildr to do the same. "But, serious question, do we want to risk the healers getting mad?"

"Uh…" Not going to lie. For a few more seconds of flying, I would. But then I remembered L'arachel still felt guilty about how bad off I was, and how Natasha would fuss and fret and winced. Forget a healer's wrath. A healer's worry was far worse, when you loved the healer in question. "Damn it." I glanced down to see if at least the person who whistled could be negotiated with. And the answer was a big 'nope!'. Because Seth was the one who was waiting for us. "...We better head down before Seth rallies the pegasus knights."

"He sure is protective of his future queen."

"Oh, shut up."

Slowly, arcing around to maximize our time in the air, Genarog and Brynhildr landed. As soon as I had unbuckled myself, Seth was there to help me down and keep me steady. I knew this was why he had been asked to get us. I had collapsed yesterday and, though I had been allowed to fly, I still needed to be careful while walking. Which is why I didn't protest when Cormag led Brynhildr off with Genarog, save to sneak in a few more hugs and nuzzles. I knew Cormag wouldn't be alone to tend to both of them anyway; others would be by to help and Cormag would more supervise than anything.

"I'm sorry to drag you from your duties, Seth," I said as we walked. Slowly. My legs were aching, and truth be told, I was a little shaky. But I wanted to walk on my own, and Seth respected that, only assisting me when I started teetering. "I really wanted to fly."

"The healers cleared you, so I see no problem with it," Seth dismissed, helping me over some difficult terrain, no doubt the remnants of some prank or other. It was _super_ muddy. "Save that King Ephraim is terribly morose that he was too busy to come get you himself."

"There's a lot of work to be done!" Though, as we had agreed, Ephraim did make sure to not work so much that we barely saw each other. For instance, he and I often took walks in the afternoon, to build up my strength again. "We're almost at the border, right?"

"Yes, in a few days, we'll be at the Narube river, which serves as a natural border between Rausten and Jehanna." It was one of the rivers that fed into the Vrep. If I remembered the stories correctly, a couple of big battles with the Demon King had been fought there. "From there, we will cross through a pass in the Neleras Peaks, and it will be a straight shot to Rausten Castle from there."

"And we battle any soldiers or monsters in our path, huh? If any, I mean." It was almost eerie how quiet it had been since Valter died. "There's still one more general left, isn't there?"

"Yes, Riev. We're trying to gather information on his whereabouts, but he proves elusive."

"Innes must be annoyed about that." Would certainly explain why he had seemed grouchier than usual. "Has Tana put ice in his collar yet?"

"No, I believe she changed her plans, though I do not know to what yet."

"Well, we haven't heard Innes yell yet, so I'm sure he doesn't know either." I just knew that Tana had been thinking about bringing L'arachel into it, to use her as a distraction. "Whoa!"

"Easy…" Seth caught me before I fell. I didn't even know what I had slipped on. "Perhaps I should have gotten you sooner."

"Any sooner, and I think Brynhildr would've protested." I could only sighed, trying to not be aggravated. I _was_ healing. That was enough. Or it should be. "I look forward to when I can run around as normal."

"I can think of many who wish the same." Seth smiled kindly and it did a lot to help soothe my frustration. "Here, lean on me for a bit."

"Yeah, good idea."

I ended up leaning on Seth the rest of the way to my tent, and it was probably a good thing because… well, the original plan was that Seth would drop me off and I'd rest, probably take a nap. However, that was delayed because Knoll was in my tent. Which was odd for many, many reasons. After all, it was rare he left his _own_ tent, much less found his way into someone else's. And a someone he hadn't interacted with much, at that!

"Ah, my apologies," Knoll mumbled, ducking his head. As always, his hood was up, so it was hard to see his face. "I didn't realize this was your tent."

"Did you somehow mistake it for yours?" Seth asked quietly, expression stoic. He subtly pulled me behind him, and it took a moment to realize that he was suspecting Knoll. I thought that paranoid, but then again, Valter managed to circumvent all of the patrols. And Knoll _was_ the newest member. "I would think otherwise."

"Not… precisely?" Knoll raised his head and now, I caught the sheepish look with an equally awkward smile. "I'm hiding. This was the closest place."

"...Hiding?" I repeated, frowning. And wobbling, but I held onto Seth to hide that. "Who or what are you trying to hide from?"

"I don't know her name, but it's the purple-haired mage?" he replied, fussing with his sleeves. Seth relaxed slightly as it became clear that this all really was a weird accident. "The one fixated on 'superiority'?"

"Oh, Lute." That was… odd. "Why are you hiding from her?"

"Well, she was stalking me, and randomly attacked me earlier." He shrugged, and Seth and I shared an alarmed look. That… that wasn't good. "Something about me being a threat to her superiority? I'm not entirely sure. But I am sorry that I broke into your tent."

"It's fine. Things are clearly… strange. Even by our standards." Unable to stand any longer, I had Seth help me sit down on my blankets. "So, let's…" Someone rushed past outside and Seth's blank expression when he looked out confirmed it was Lute. "Seth, I'm sorry, but do you mind…?"

"I'll get her to Kyle, since the two have been talking a lot recently," Seth reassured. I was startled because serious Kyle seemed like the _last_ person who would want to talk to Lute, particularly given her eccentricities. Then again, Forde was his best friend. "Wait a moment before leaving, Knoll." Seth stepped out then and there was a bit of quiet murmuring followed by the sound of footsteps heading away.

When things were quiet again, I turned my attention back to Knoll. "We'll ask Artur and Vanessa to talk to her," I told him. Lute was even more isolated than me when it came to friends, but she listened to the two of them a lot. "I'm sorry. Was it a recent thing?"

"The attacking was," Knoll sighed, standing with a wince. I decided that as soon as I was done with my nap, I was talking to people. Knoll had enough to deal with. "I do apologize for stealing your tent. You should be resting."

"It's fine." I was admittedly curious as to why mine had been closest, but there wasn't really an answer to that. "Are you doing okay? Aside from Lute." Why was she so fixated on superiority? Did she think we wouldn't keep her around or something? ...Maybe, and if that was the case, there were many others far better suited for that.

"I am well enough." And he said no more.

"I'm glad to hear it." I wasn't offended by the terseness. Gods knew I understood the reluctance to reach out when everything went wrong. "You can hide here a little longer, if you want."

"It is appreciated, but I was supposed to meet Duessel." Which would actually explain why he was near. "We're going to pool our knowledge to discern the most accurate truth about what happened with Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon."

"...Most accurate?"

"There are as many truths as there are people. History is merely the most accepted version of it." With that, he left and it reminded me of what I had told Eirika once. About how history was written by the victors and we could spin things so that Lyon wasn't villainized…

I shook my head and laid down, trying to go to sleep. But I couldn't. All I could think about was what Saleh and I suspected. Sure, it was nice to have a clear 'villain' to blame, but… Gods, if Saleh and I were right, what were we going to do?

* * *

"Aw, Brynhildr looks so happy!" Tana cooed, urging Achaeus to fly closer so that she could lean over and pet Brynhildr's neck. Brynhildr not-purred in reply. "She's missed flying with you!"

"Even on something as serious as a scouting mission?" I teased, laughing. I had to admit that it _did_ feel nice to actually be doing stuff again. I had long hit that point in illnesses where you weren't well enough to do anything, but _were_ well enough to be annoyed by it. "Look at all the green…"

"Yeah, we're just about in Rausten." Tana's voice became soft and a little distant as she looked out to the horizon. "I've never been. Truthfully, I only been to Frelia and Renais prior to all of this."

"Now look at you! You've traveled the continent, more or less."

"Yeah, I've flown quite far, huh?" She twisted to smile at me, but despite the attempt at cheer, her eyes were sad. "You know… some days, I wish I could go back to those carefree days. But we never can, can we? Everything has changed too much."

"Frelia has a lot of reconstruction." So many died during that assault. So many had died all over the continent, really. "But change is… okay. And hey, change means butterflies."

"...Butterflies?" Her sadness was replaced with a 'really?' look, complete with a raised eyebrow. "Did you seriously just say that?"

"Look, I'm still on medication! It made sense in my head!" Actually, it didn't really. I thought I'd been trying to make a connection to caterpillars changing into butterflies, but… "Ugh, that's the last time I try to cheer _you_ up."

"Noo…!" Tana playfully sulked and whined before both of us burst into laughter. "Okay, okay. Serious. We must be serious. Vanessa would scold us most severely if she learned how much we were joking."

"Speaking of joking, hasn't she been spending a lot of time with Forde recently?" I shifted back in my saddle to ease the pain in my knees and hips. I still wasn't completely recovered, after all. "Amelia mentioned that."

"Amelia is spreading gossip?" Tana gasped dramatically, placing her hand on her chest like the news stopped her heart. "My word!"

"She was trying to keep me from teasing _her_!" News of her and Franz kissing spread like wildfire, to the delight of everyone who enjoyed teasing. Which was most of us. "She normally hides behind Neimi, but Neimi was out hunting." And out scolding Colm for making a mess of Moulder's things. Again. On accident, sure, but it was the fourth time! I wondered just why Colm was around Moulder's stuff so much. "So, I had her to myself~!"

"Aw, that sounds like fun!" She stuck her tongue out at me and I snickered. "Ah, but yes, she has. Vanessa, I mean. She's trying to get him to take his duties more seriously, but I think it's more Forde helping her relax."

"That doesn't surprise me." If a lifetime with Kyle didn't turn Forde 'serious', nothing would. But that was also if you looked surface-deep, since I knew well how seriously Forde took his duties. And, besides, who expected a napping idiot to know the best way to gut a person? Or be watching for things to sketch later? "So, anyway…" I trailed off when Brynhildr growled. And not a happy growl. "...Why does something _always_ have to happen?"

"Oh, hell, look down." Tana's tone told me what I'd see, but it was still heartbreaking to see a demolished village below. It was quickly followed by terror because ' _obliterated_ ' might have been a better word; most of the buildings were nothing but rubble. Worse, I couldn't see bodies up here. Just crimson patches, and what looked to be something… mushy. "Why is it that whenever I'm certain I've seen the worst, I get proven wrong within a few days?"

"When you figure out which god we pissed off enough to keep that happening, let me know. I'll assist with appeasing." I thought of the prayer I had made to the Queen-Goddess of the Dead and mouthed it again. Please… please… "Shall we continue or head back?"

"I…" Tana took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She gripped Vidofnir so hard it shook. "I think we should at least go a little bit ahead, just to try and gather more information. But not far. Much farther, and…"

"It would be too dangerous." Honestly, going ahead was dangerous enough, but… "I'm going to fly a bit above you. Just in case we've got wyverns hiding." I still remembered how their scouts got around Frelia's patrols, after all.

"Let's go."

We flew in silence and, surprisingly, it actually didn't take us long to find out what was going on. Sort of. Nothing about what caused the village to implode, but we did see Grado soldiers fighting Frelian pegasus knights. While the pegasus knights were trying to evacuate civilians. Because of course there were.

As we got a little closer, Tana gasped suddenly and pointed to one pegasus knight flitting about, desperately trying to keep the enemy's attention on her. "That's Syrene!" she cried. I wondered how she could tell, since she was just a vague figure of white with long green hair, but I trusted her. "Why is Syrene…?"

"Seems like they're in need of back-up," I noted, frowning as I counted. There were… it looked like twenty pegasus knights. And many more archers. "I'll go support, if you'll head back?" Was it the best decision? No idea. But Brynhildr was better armored and Achaeus was faster. "Been a while since I got to be dramatic."

"I'd say getting kidnapped and then rescuing yourself is dramatic, personally." That… that was a good point, actually. "I'll be right back. Gods, someone should invent some way that you can be heard from great distances. Like instantaneous letters or something. Why has no one invented anything like that yet anyway? We have warp magic!"

"Complain to the mages on your way back!" I grinned to emphasize I was teasing and then bent low over Brynhildr's neck so that she could go fast. "Be quick!" And then Brynhildr and I were off, knowing that Tana had her part covered.

So, I focused on mine, which was 'get to Syrene as soon as possible'. It meant flying straight through a storm of arrows, but arrows barely did anything to Brynhildr at this height. It just made for a rather annoying racket as they bounced and splintered off her armor. And made it harder to aim properly because the arrows deflected my own shots. So, Brynhildr and I actually dropped, landing with a loud thud that was almost swallowed up by the sounds of snapping bones and crushed bodies. The soldiers were understandably terrified, even more so when Brynhildr lashed out with her claws and fangs, and promptly ran to regroup. That let Brynhildr and me safely fly back up to where Syrene was hovering in the air, absently patting her pegasus on the neck.

"You fly well, Emma," she noted, smiling at me. It was tired, but somehow calm as well. 'Serene', if one could forgive the play on her name. "Dare I hope there's an army not far behind you?"

"Tana is on her way back to inform them," I reassured her, smiling as well. I looked around curiously, noticing that the enemy was organized. Someone important was in charge. Riev, maybe? That would be convenient. "Here, let me play bait for a while."

"Thank you. We've been fighting since dawn." ...It was well into the afternoon now! "If the druids return, shout."

"Druids?" A quick look proved that there weren't _any_ magic users below. Which… was odd. Where were they.

"They're the primary reason for why the villages are razed and why we are having to evacuate civilians." Oh, I didn't like that implication. "It's been very chaotic. So much so that I don't know where they went or where pr…" She bit her lip and, after a moment, shook her head. "I shouldn't report that yet. I need confirmation first."

"...Okay." I had a bad feeling what she had been going to say. I had a worse feeling about why. "Stay safe."

It wasn't hard, playing bait. If anything, it was tedious, which was very… unnerving. It was like these soldiers were holding back or something. I wasn't sure. But Brynhildr's uneasy growls told me it wasn't just me being paranoid. Something was wrong. The soldiers I 'fought' couldn't have caused Syrene or her squad any trouble. So, where were the ones who they had fought? Had they killed them, leaving only the newer and weaker soldiers? Were they hiding? There were no answers. Just a heaviness to the wind that would not go away.

It was a relief to see our army arrive, and I immediately fell back to let our pegasus knights take over aerial support. And Brynhildr and I went high in the air to try and see _something_. Anything. This had to be some sort of trap. But there was nothing unusual. At least, at first. Eventually, something did catch my eye, but it was nothing like a trap or anything. It was a very familiar looking person, stumbling about near the river. About to fall into the _very fast_ river, actually. So, without thinking about it, I had Brynhildr land and block Lyon just as he pitched forward. As soon as I unbuckled myself, I dismounted and went to steady him, leading him away from the water.

"Not sure if you know how close you were to drowning, but I'm told it's a very drawn out thing and not a good way to die," I informed him with a lightness that probably didn't suit the words. He mumbled something I didn't catch, head lolling about. He moved jerkily, like there were a thousand puppeteers trying to pull his strings and none of them could agree on just which way to pull. "Lyon? Can you hear me?" I glanced up and saw Eirika and Ephraim rushing over, while others coordinated our army for actual combat. "Lyon? It's Emma. Remember me? We've met a couple of times."

"Em… ma…?" Lyon finally said, just barely coherent. He glanced up at me through his bangs, hazy eyes trying to focus. He was terribly gray in the face, and he almost seemed… gaunt or something. Not just a ghost, but a skeleton as well. "Emma. Eirika's friend."

"Yes, it's me."

"You… you need to get away…!" Though his eyes were still hazy, there was a fierce and desperate light to them now. "Get away and keep them away and…!"

"Lyon!" And Eirika hugged Lyon, almost knocking him over. "Lyon, goodness, are you ill?" she asked, pulling away and brushing the hair out of Lyon's face. Ephraim lingered back for a moment, hesitant, but then came to Lyon's side to support his back and shoulders. "No fever, but you are clammy…" Not really sure what to do, or how to react, I decided to just head to Brynhildr, feeling uneasy and wanting my bow. "You're supposed to rest if you're sick!"

"Oh, you know me; always the frail one," Lyon joked, with a meek smile. It was so different than how he had been just seconds before that when I _did_ get my bow, I almost just shot. But I… I couldn't. Not when Ephraim and Eirika were… "But Ephraim, you look so serious. Is something wrong?"

"He's probably trying to think of what to say. He's been trying to be better about blurting things out."

"But would he be Ephraim if he is?"

"Haha, very funny," Ephraim immediately deadpanned, rolling his eyes. He hesitated a bit more before going for it. The others were fighting, not paying attention to the conversation here. "Hey, Lyon, we met in Grado Keep recently. Did… do you remember what you said?"

"Hmm? I…" Lyon began. He frowned, raising a hand to his head. For a second, I thought I saw something dark at his fingertips, but when I blinked, it was gone. "Sorry, I'm a little… do you mind if I lay down for a while before…?"

"No, of course not." He tightened his grip on Lyon's shoulder, now just worried. Worried about his best friend. "Here, I'll get Duessel-"

"Get away from him." The words were surprisingly strong and cold, considering it was Myrrh who spoke. Myrrh, standing alone, not hiding behind anyone for once. "Ephraim, Eirika, get away from him," she repeated. "Now."

"Myrrh, this is…" Eirika began, startled. She held onto Lyon a little tighter, while Ephraim hesitated yet again. "Myrrh, this is Lyon, one of our dearest-"

"No, it's not. It's not Lyon." Myrrh's gaze wavered then, her eyes filling with tears. "I can sense it. It's not him. It's Fomortiis, using his body. So, get away from him. He's just acting."

"But that's not…!"

"Well, certainly didn't expect this," Lyon sighed, all meekness disappearing. He snapped his fingers, but the magic that sparked from it didn't hit its mark. Ephraim pulled Eirika away before it could hit her, earning a gash on his arm. "Ha… it seems the little manakete has become a slightly bigger manakete." Lyon's smile was cruel; it didn't suit his face at all. "But your protectors are long dead now, are they not? Such a tragedy."

"If only I could trade you for them." Now Myrrh cried, unable to hold back her tears anymore, but she also glared fiercely, undaunted and furious. "But it's the same exact thing. You found cracks and you widened them until his heart shattered and you could crawl inside."

"And so many cracks there were!" 'Lyon' laughed, a raucous sound that made my skin crawl and cold dread pool in my stomach. "I barely had to do anything to break it into bite-sized pieces. Such self-hatred… agonizing inferiority… unrequited love… sharp loss… all made worse by the expectations of others and his genuine kindness!" He 'smiled' again, but this time it felt like he was baring teeth instead. "Quite the delicious soul, truthfully, surprisingly so given how pathetic his heart was. A shame that it's almost gone. Just the last few pieces… I should pick when to savor them. Perhaps after I've crushed you all? I imagine the despair his heart would feel would make the perfect seasoning."

"Damn you…!" Ephraim shouted, lunging for Ly… for Fomortiis. But he quickly had to dodge another magic blast. "Tch…"

"What's wrong?" Fomortiis asked, all innocent and coy. Save for the cruelty in his eyes. "Is it not right for the weak to perish? That's all that happened. He was a weak fool and he died trying to live up to your exemplary example, little Ephraim."

"Stop talking about him like you know him." Ephraim glared. Nearby, Eirika was frozen, even as Myrrh rushed over to take her hand. "You don't."

"Did you forget I am in his head, young fool? I can read through his memories and thoughts as if they were a particularly dull book." Fomortiis chuckled and Ephraim snarled. "Quite amusing, you saying that. I know him so very intimately… and you didn't even know how much he _loathed_ himself." He smirked when Ephraim winced. "But that is neither here nor there. The dead are dead, after all. You two have a Sacred Stone, yes? Clever ruse, that."

"Thank you for praising our ancestors," Eirika finally managed, stepping up to stand next to Ephraim. The words were a bit wobbly, and she had started crying, but she had Sieglinde in hand now and she glared with all the fierceness I had ever seen. It was just like with Novala and the little girl… "But you're not going to have it. _And_ you're going to give us back our friend!"

"There's nothing to _give_ back," Fomortiis sighed, shaking his head while still smirking. Patronizing little…! "And I have no wish to see warriors die pitiful deaths at my feet. It always takes so long to clean. Give me the stone and bend the knee. If you pledge yourself, I'll let you live."

"We're not fools! History tells us just what happened to those who knelt to you!"

"Ah, yes, that's right. You're not anything like Lyon, are you? And how he knew it, and longed to be as clever and as strong…" Fomortiis chuckled and Eirika reeled back on her heels. Myrrh kept her steady. "Poor choice, really, but it lets me… show off a little." He raised his hand and instantly, the air grew heavy with power. It was hard to breathe; the soldiers fighting nearby had to stop to gasp for air. "A force no human flesh can withstand… a horror beyond horrors… a power that placed this sad world under my dominion and will do so again…" Dark purple flames wrapped around Fomortiis's hand and forearm, twisting and writhing like snakes. "I am the Demon King. Behold my might."

That was, thankfully, when I found the presence of mind to actually freaking shoot like I should've a while ago. Even more thankfully, it caught him in the elbow, forcing him to stumble back and disrupt the spell. He glared balefully at me and twisted his arm to regather the magic, the arrow in his arm splintering from the power. But before he could cast it, a blast of wind cut through those dark flames and gouged Fomortiis's chest. I knew without looking that it was Saleh, with Excalibur, but I turned to confirm it anyway. His expression was pure stone, and there was a fury in his eyes that I didn't recognize. I'd never seen him angry before… But it didn't matter. Because Fomortiis decided to warp himself away then and in his place, the dead rose to shamble forward, forced to do battle again.

This was just wrong.

* * *

The number of rescue missions I had to fly today was… well, truthfully, it probably wasn't a whole lot, but it sure as hell _felt_ like a lot. Particularly when I had a squalling baby in my arms while his five-year-old sister sat behind me, wailing from fright. And why wouldn't she be afraid? She watched her _other_ younger sibling, a little girl no older than two, literally explode from dark magic! And gods knew what had happened to her parents!

"Sure, let's go for the civilians!" I groused… groused? Was that the word I wanted? Probably not. Did I care? Nope! Honestly, who the hell cared anyway? I made sure to not say the words until after I dropped the kids off and I was alone and that was more important. Almost as important as dismounting before I began my tirade, to have ample room to pace and flail to bleed off frustration. "Because what else says 'oh, I am an evil bastard of evil' than going after civilians. Or nothing says that I am a _fucking coward_ like that! Gods above and below and everywhere!"

"Should… I come back while you rant and ramble at shadows?" And there was Vanessa, giving me a concerned look. "Or should I get the healers?" she asked, serious as always. I simply sighed and shook my head. "The village?"

"I brought the only two survivors." I took a few deep breaths to try and calm down and leaned against Brynhildr. She brought her wing over me in a 'hug' and crooned to help soothe me. "It was actually the secondary village. The original one had none."

"Damn it." Vanessa actually slammed her fist against the wall of the 'fort' we were at. It had once been an armory, but it had long since been raided. And, unfortunately, it was the most secure building we had, because the only fort-fort? Fomortiis had it. But we needed a fortified area to keep the survivors. And there were quite a few, but those were the ones who got out early. The ones Syrene and her group managed to save. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you curse."

"This is a situation that cursing was invented for." She hit the wall again, this time with far less force. I looked around for her pegasus and saw her being tended to by one of the other pegasus knights. "I knew it would be bad because of how battered Syrene and her squad were, but…"

"At least we have a semi-good strategy for dealing with the undead." It was basically Lute, Knoll, Saleh, Eirika, and Ewan all cast Elfire's simultaneously until there was nothing but a wall of fire. Bring the fire down to advance. Fire again. It was slow going, but from what I had seen? Effective enough. "Swear the smoke is going to kill one of us fliers, though."

"Had a near miss, actually. It's why I'm down; Prince Innes ordered it." Definitely missed that, then. "I was coming over to let you know when… ah…"

"Sorry, when you see a toddler turn into chunks of meat and blood in front of you, you have to scream a little. Or I do, at least." I ground my teeth, just… remembering. I had _almost_ been there. I had _almost_ been in range to save her. But 'almost' wasn't enough. And I knew that. It was just so damn frustrating…! At least it was one of the last villages to be evacuated. I would only have to fly one or two more, at most, to determine who was left. "Why does Fomortiis have to live up to his reputation?"

"And just imagine. He's in the body of a human."

"Is that better or worse? I mean; Lyon is supposed to be a damn powerful-" Loud shrieking both cut me off and filled me with dread. Vanessa closed her eyes at it. "Why do I get the feeling that I was just proven right?" Why couldn't I be right about simpler things, damn it!

"I wish the heroes had just killed him."

"Same."

I jumped onto Brynhildr and headed up in the air, buckling myself in as we ascended. After all, if people were screaming, then they needed help. Brynhildr and I were typically (sort of) good at getting ourselves into trouble to get people out of trouble. So, it was a simple decision to make… or it should've been. As we flew over the battlefield, however, my jaw dropped at the sheer carnage. Forget the typical bodies strewn all over the place. Fomortiis's spells _left craters_. Sure, he was slow as hell when it came to casting, but that didn't matter. He used the extra magic as a shield to limit how close someone could get and all he needed was one spell to obliterate his targets! And that was no exaggeration. I watched ten people just _disappear_.

"Oh, you and I are getting _nowhere_ near his range, Brynhildr…" I breathed, just… staring. Talisman or not, one hit would probably slaughter both her and me. I could see _pegasus knights_ that were taken out. Or so I assumed since _all that was left was a wing or two_! "Holy shit…" Brynhildr growled and then whimpered, frustrated by how we… we really couldn't help. Not in this fight. Not as we normally did. "Holy…"

"Yeah, I promptly got the hell out of there," Cormag commented, swooping down to fly next to me. Genarog had some gashes sluggishly bleeding, and I pulled out some medicine from the compartment of my glove to smear on the worst of them. "For the record? That's from shrapnel."

"I don't think I've… ever felt so helpless in a battle, actually." This was just insane. Even with the cyclops, we managed some sort of plan. "I'm guessing someone is setting up assassination via sniping?"

"Tried that. Innes and Neimi are in the infirmary." ...Oh gods… "And only reason they're alive is because some soldiers used themselves as living shields to blunt the worst of it."

"And here I thought nothing would be worse than the damn cyclops…" Then again, we hadn't thought we would be _fighting the damn Demon King_. "Who's dead?"

"Surprisingly, no one you and I know personally. Near misses all over the place, and the infirmary is full." He smiled bitterly. "I decided for the sake of my heart to not try and count the dead."

"I think that's going to be our goal until we reach Rausten." I had to close my eyes when I saw another five be engulfed by Fomortiis's spell. I couldn't… and gods, I was afraid I would look down and see Ephraim or Eirika or Joshua or… so many others… disappear while I was helpless… "I'm with Vanessa. Cursing was invented for times like this."

"I agree." Cormag's eyes narrowed, and he urged Genarog to fly a little closer. "Hey…"

"Yes?" I glanced at him and frowned. "Wait, you've got a stupid idea, don't you?"

"You say it like that's a bad thing."

"Cursed. Lance."

"...Okay, that's a good point." He shuddered at the memory, but then shook his head. "But this is… oh, never mind. You stopped his spell earlier, right?"

"I… uh... think I more disrupted his concentration long enough for Saleh to blast him with Excalibur." And I was becoming more and more certain that had only worked because he hadn't been paying attention. "But something tells me you want me to try again."

"If there was ever a time to weaponize that luck you Jehannans have…"

"We really shouldn't weaponize that!" But even as I protested, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and Brynhildr dropped a little to give me a better angle. "If we die, I'm killing you."

"Duly noted." He and Genarog also dropped to stay level with Brynhildr and me. I had a feeling they would try to tackle us out of the way, if it came to it. "Just try."

"Yeah, yeah…" Sighing, I drew back the arrow and did my best to aim. It was difficult, because of the distance and… honestly, I wasn't so sure this was going to work. But hey, maybe if his attention was on us or something… no, this was stupid and I almost gave up on it. However, just when I was about to say that, I saw someone with long, blood-red hair skirt around the edge of the battle with a clear goal. Joshua, with Audhulma in hand, was heading straight for Fomortiis. Audhulma, the Sacred Twin of Ice, the bane of _magic users_ …

I bit my lip and waited. I waited until Joshua was closer, in a better range. Even then, I hesitated, but then I saw him look up, right at me, and realized this was no mere coincidence. He had seen me aiming. He was planning on me shooting. He was depending on me. So, I focused on Fomortiis, lined up the shot again, and fired.

Immediately after firing, both Cormag and I dropped and swooped around, just in case. So, I didn't see my arrow hit. But I did see Joshua surge forward and slice Fomortiis across the chest before kicking him in the wound. When he tried to strike again, though, Fomortiis threw a spell at him and for a blink, for a heartbeat, I thought Joshua would die. But Joshua brought up Audhulma to block and blue-white light flashed around him like a shield, blocking most of the spell. Unfortunately, though, the spell had been nothing more than a diversion for Fomortiis to escape. Leaving nothing but a bunch of shaken people wondering just what the hell they got themselves into.

Why did this have to happen? Just… why?

* * *

"Yikes, Neimi, he got you good…" I whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. She mumbled something in her sleep, but remained unconscious. But that bit of movement was enough for me, because she was horribly pale and she felt cold and clammy. "Damn."

"Yeah, that's the strongest word I can muster, despite my thoughts," Colm replied, leaning back in his chair. He smiled slightly, like it was a joke, but he looked too exhausted to give it any sort of humor. And why wouldn't he? He had carried Neimi to the infirmary himself, and had stayed by her side even through her surgery. He _had_ been sitting on the floor, but I had dragged a chair over for him. "Did Moulder say…?"

"She should make a full recovery." I didn't bring up that Moulder had told him, thrice, the same thing. It was hard to pay attention when someone you loved so dearly looked like she was a slip away from death. The pale colors of the infirmary bed and blankets made her look even more washed out. "How are you? You were near."

"I got bandaged a little while ago. While you were setting up the food for the healers." He almost reached over to hold Neimi's hand, but stopped himself. After all, Neimi's arm was completely bandaged. "Her gauntlet…?"

"It's being fixed. Garcia is handling it, I believe." I fixed the blankets on Neimi and then walked to the other side to stand behind Colm, resting my hands on his shoulders. "You going to be okay?"

"When she wakes up." He looked up at me, and there was some life to his eyes now. Only a little, but it was there. "Oh, and if you tell anyone how I'm acting, I'm going to deny it."

"Of course you are." I kissed his forehead and hugged him. "Make sure you get something to eat as well, okay? I'm going to check later."

"I will. Thief's honor."

"And there's none better, right?" I tightened my hug on him before letting go. "See you later, Colm."

I walked around the infirmary for a bit, mostly helping with adjusting blankets and minor things so that the healers got a breather, and then I left to head for Ephraim's work tent. After all, as per usual, that's where the leaders were meeting. Now, why was _I_ called in? Honestly, I wasn't sure. Originally, I had thought it was because Saleh was busy, but he was right there in the corner, with Myrrh hiding behind him. In fact, even L'arachel was here, since most of the post-battle madness in the infirmary was over. The post-battle meeting was happening later than usual due to Innes needing surgery and bandages himself. He was the only one seated, actually, and Tana fussed over him relentlessly, even draping a blanket over his shoulders. I didn't know if he was just humoring her by keeping it on, or if he was in so much pain that he wanted to minimize movement. His entire torso was bandaged, after all, along with his arms and his neck. From what I understood, he was only conscious because he had been a little further back, compared to Neimi.

"Let's just say that I don't want to try that again any time soon," Joshua was saying as I walked in. He pulled back his sleeves to show his own bandages, and I winced at them. He had some on his torso as well, and one or two had been _deep_. Natasha had been fretting, eve after clearing him. "That's with the protection my blade gave me. I don't know if that's the Demon King's power or him using Lyon's, but either way, we're in some trouble."

"I do wish we had the presence of mind to try and use the Sacred Stone," L'arachel sighed. Her hair wasn't in its usual pigtail… ponytail… whatever. It was fully down, and the ends were still damp from a quick wash. I vaguely remembered Natasha mentioning a patient had vomited on her hair while she was stitching their leg. "Surely that could have done _something_ …"

"To be fair, we hadn't expected to _fight_ the Demon King. Well, most of us." Joshua glanced at me, and I had a sudden bad feeling about why I was here. So bad that I immediately headed over to Saleh and pretended to fuss over Myrrh. Who thankfully played along. "Saleh? Petal? Both of you were able to react fairly quickly."

"From what I understand, Emma tends to react quickly whenever she believes people she loves are in danger," Saleh replied calmly. Unlike me, who was nervy, he was perfectly poised and relaxed. "But she and I both had our suspicions, yes. I have my knowledge from Caer Pelyn and Emma has a habit of overhearing many conversations."

"You make it sound like I'm snooping," I grumbled, scowling now. Saleh, of course, simply shrugged. "Oh, whatever. It _is_ based on my interactions with Lyon and some conversations I've overheard that led me to guess. That and deciding that the worst case scenario was the most likely one, given how this has gone." I sighed and brushed my hair behind my ear. Myrrh, sweetie that she was, took my hand. "But I didn't want to say anything because I felt like saying something would…"

"It would make it real, and if only for certain people's sakes…" Saleh glanced at Eirika, who stood quietly in the corner with Ephraim, and, amusingly, Eirika actually blushed. Faintly, but it was there. If only circumstances were better… I could've teased them. "Neither of us wanted to be right." He smiled ruefully then, focusing on everyone else. "Though, both of us did peruse Grado's library for potential clues as to save him."

"Of course, I got kidnapped by Valter soon afterwards. Which also kind of plays a part in why I, at least, didn't say anything." Hard to talk about something so serious when you had freaking Valter hovering over you. "Actually, that plays a big part."

"I can't blame you for not wanting it to be real," Tana whispered, smiling sadly. She kept fidgeting with Innes's blanket, to the point that Innes had to hold her hand to stop her. "So, what do we do? I mean… I'd love to save him, but wasn't there only one 'vessel' that survived?"

"That… isn't _quite_ true?" Myrrh mumbled hesitantly, still hiding behind Saleh. In fact, he had to shift a little so that she could be seen at all. "The one before was… but just the body. The soul was…"

"Yeah, not ideal." She sighed, squeezing Innes's hand with both of hers. Careful to avoid the bandages, of course, and Innes didn't seem to mind. "How did Saint Latona survive anyway, Myrrh? I know what the stories say, but I think we can all agree that the stories simplified things."

"They do, but sadly, I don't actually know…" Myrrh's voice wobbled and broke and she ducked behind Saleh again, this time to hide that she was crying. "I was little, so they didn't take me to that battle. I just held onto my charm and prayed. My father might know, but…" She shrugged helplessly and pulled her wings tight against her back. "All I know is that Ishmael was involved."

"Ishmael?" Innes repeated with a frown. He was silent for half of a second before focusing on Joshua. "Your house name…?"

"It became the 'house name' because King Kasimir always called himself 'Ishmael's son'," Joshua explained with a shrug. He then began absently braiding his hair, just to have something to do. "Ishmael was the leader of the desert people during the last years of the war."

"And I don't suppose there was some old story or anything…"

"Not that I know of." Joshua grimaced then and looked down, curling into himself slightly in shame. L'arachel patted him on the back reassuringly. "It's possible it was… _supposed_ to be passed down and my running away kind of… well…"

"Right…" Innes closed his eyes briefly before looking at everyone. "Well, in that case, the odds aren't in our favor. We should proceed with the knowledge that we will have to kill him."

"Surely not!" Eirika immediately protested. No one was surprised. And, honestly, no one could blame her. Most everyone had some sort of conflicted look on their face. "If there was a way before, then…!"

"That assumes we can find anything," Innes pointed out, words sharp. Sharper than usual, actually, and Tana frowned at them. "And we have no leads."

"That's just because we haven't started looking yet, I-!"

"We can't sacrifice all of our soldiers to save a walking corpse!" ...I had never heard Innes yell before, but he did now. Loud and sharp, with a touch of fear in it. "I know we speak metaphorically of people living without a soul or heart, but this isn't a story! This is reality, and we must accept that sometimes, there's no happy ending!" And no one knew how to reply to that. All of us were just too… rattled.

"Well, that's a sign that none of us are emotionally stable enough to hold a serious conversation," Joshua noted lightly, breaking the silence. He smiled charmingly at everyone and began nudging L'arachel towards the door. "So, as the eldest one here, besides Myrrh, I say we're done for the day. We're all reeling."

There was no arguing that and, so the others filed out, with Tana supporting Innes (who still had that blanket around him). I thought about following, possibly to take Myrrh so that Saleh and Eirika could 'conveniently' be alone (even if this wasn't really the time for teasing), but I paused and looked back to Ephraim, since he had been strangely silent throughout the exchange. When I saw he had collapsed into Innes's vacated chair, I decided to head over. As soon as I was close enough, he snagged me by the waist and pulled me close, burying his face into my abdomen as he held me tightly. Though startled, I ran my hands through his hair, hoping it was enough to soothe him for now. It seemed to be as gradually, his death grip on me relaxed, though he still clung. Like he was afraid I would disappear if he let go.

"...I know that I have to swallow my wishes and do what is best for the people…" he began softly, each word made heavier by the tears he shed. "But I don't want to. Not with this. I want to save Lyon. I want to apologize and then yell at him for taking things on his own like usual. Damn it, I _told_ him that there was no point in helping people if it meant..."

"You likely will serve as the middle ground between Innes and Eirika in this. Perhaps leaning more towards one side than the other," I whispered. I was sure Joshua would also be a 'neutral' ground. I wasn't certain on L'arachel, save that I knew she would want to save him. But she would also be cautious because allowing Fomortiis to walk free wasn't 'righteous'. And her parents died fighting his monsters. "But that doesn't mean you have to give up. I know this isn't a fight you're sure you can win, but that's fine. You're not alone, love."

"I… well, no…" His hands shook on my back. "But…"

"Let's send messengers to Zada and see if they can discover anything in their libraries. And we can look through Rausten's as well." It was possible Latona made a record of the thing that saved her, after all. "Or, well, I can. I don't have duties like you do. Gods know I'm stubborn enough, even if I'm not the most academically inclined."

"...We could put Lute, Knoll, and Saleh on it too… in between looking up more information on the monsters."

"Yes, we can." And maybe we could send word to Caer Pelyn. There were a lot of options, after all, and we had quite a few allies. The question was, of course, whether we could find anything in time. "I'm sure Innes is just trying to not get hopes up, because of how crushing it can be. For all his prickliness, he does love you two."

"...Yeah… and he's always been awkward with his feelings…" He chuckled, but it soon turned into a sob. "I know Innes is feeling every death keenly today. It's all…"

"I know."

"And I know Eirika probably needs you, but…"

"Eirika can make her own decisions on who she wants and needs comfort from, and we share a tent, so she and I can talk then, if she wants." I laughed softly, smiling even though I knew he couldn't see it. "So, don't feel guilty or anything. I'm all yours. As always, of course. I love you."

"I love you too."

Ephraim continued clinging to me and crying until he passed out, just from sheer exhaustion. After getting him balanced on the chair, I sent someone for Forde or Kyle, and both actually appeared to carry their sleeping king to his tent. I walked with them, just in case Ephraim woke up, but when he didn't, I headed for my own tent, where Eirika already was. She had our bedding arranged so that we could hold hands while sleeping, and I didn't comment on it. Instead, I told her about something I had seen earlier, with Garcia and Dozla doing something ridiculous and nearly burning their eyebrows off. It got her to smile, and led to more stories about all the silly things that had happened around camp.

In the next few days, we would talk about Lyon. For now, she needed help easing the blows to her spirit. And what else were friends for, right?

* * *

 _Again, not sure what to write here… maybe this should just become a space where I write silly things? We'll see. Oh, but I think Syrene is accompanying us now? And I don't think I wrote about Knoll either… eh, I'll do that later._

* * *

Author's notes: Changed things a little bit here to give Myrrh a presence, since she doesn't speak at all in the game's version of this chapter, and also brought in dialogue from Ephraim's version of this chapter (mostly the kneeling thing). The first scene is based off of Lute and Knoll's supports. The 'Ishmael' mentioned here is a character from _Records of the Indomitable_.

Lyon's tome, Naglfar, is actually a better tome than Gleipnir, the Sacred Twin of dark magic. It's more powerful, more accurate, lighter, _and_ has infinite durability. Now, that being said, it's still heavy as hell, so Lyon's not going to be doubling many (if any) units with it, but with 25 might combined with Lyon's high magic and your units' typically low Res, he often only _need_ one hit. Now, granted, he doesn't actually _use_ that tome in this chapter iirc, buuut… novelization. (...Okay, and I might have forgotten until later and didn't want to rewrite the scene). The mention of craters, btw, is due to the animation. If you're wondering why the arrow disrupted the spell, I was thinking it to be like when you have to make a concentration check in DnD.

Fun fact, Naglfar appears in Norse mythology as a boat made from the fingernails and toenails of the dead, carrying the forces that will do battle with the gods during Ragnarok. Kind of fitting for someone who can make bunches of monsters?

Next Chapter - Two Faces of Evil


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